kindness in the form of a chair

In an astonishing act of kindness, our upstairs neighbor, Maggie, surprised us last night with three chairs, a table and a stool with a television on top. I almost cried. No more feeding the baby on the tile kitchen floor. I have a chair! We ordered in dinner and watched American Idol and it was the most normal I've felt all week.

Today I went to the Tea Lounge on Maggie's recommendation, a major mommy hang-out. I met two nice women who told me registration for Pre-Kindergarten is going on now and because the cut-off date in NY is December 31st, Amelia's eligible to register now for next year. So I came home and looked up the details. This cut-off will have her starting first grade a year earlier than I'd expected, so that's a new idea to get used to. It's also a full-day program. But it's close by, and it's free. So I'm thinking about it. She dreams about going to school, so I know she'd be thrilled.

Amelia was so tired when we got home at lunch time that she got her lunch out of the fridge, but didn't touch it. She stumbled into her room with her purple snowboots and red body coat still on, sat on the edge of her air mattress, laid back and fell asleep. She was like a sleeping snow angel. Hopefully we'll have an earlier bedtime tonight. We started out the week two hours ahead of Colorado, and after the time change this weekend it will be a third hour ahead to get used to.

I can't believe how much better I feel each day. My new coat is so warm. Our neighborhood has tons of little shops to discover, and I haven't had a bad cup of coffee yet. Friends call and email to check on me. Saturday doesn't feel far away.