wow, how time flies.

i love my watch. rob bought it for me for my 29th birthday, it was the perfect gift. up to that point i had an old digital watch that you could put different velcro bands on....it looked better than it sounds...well, not really. anyhow, this new watch was a silver plated swiss army with simple numbers (i can't stand roman numerals, i am not italian and i do not live 500 years ago!) on a simple white face, with simple hands. simple is the theme. nothing fancy about it, well except it does have the date too. love this watch. as a teacher, it is a great watch to help students learn how to tell time, they would often tell their folks they wanted a watch "just like miss gibbons'." wow, i was finally the envy of someone! since it is waterproof i could wear it in the shower, ocean wherever. if i did take if off for some reason and forgot to put it on before leaving for work, i would feel totally off kilter all day-i would often have to borrow a student's watch just so i wouldn't drive myself crazy! i had to know the time, how would i survive if i didn't know the time??

now as most woman would attest to, time is very important in the land of pregnancy especially delivery. gotta time those contractions, gotta know how long it will take to get to the hospital, gotta time the breathing. timing is everything. and of course, when it all happens, you must know the exact time your child enters the world and takes that first breath (12:37 am and 4:07 pm thank you very much!) once you and the babe make it home, you must time how long the baby feeds on the left, then the right. what time she pooped, what time she peed....again, time time time!

however this changed in one of those early days when i noticed a little mark on my newbie's back..."omg, what is that???" maybe she is allergic to the baby soap we use, maybe the detergent is causing a reaction ....no wait, is that mark in the exact same place my arm rests when i am holding her? oh no, could it be that my watch is causing that mark??? omg i am a terrible mother. my own need for time is causing my child to develop a hideous scar that will surely limit her choice in suitors later in life. ok get a hold of yourself (remember i said it was the early days and i was VERY sleep deprived.) why not just remove the watch? i can wear it later, when i am going out (when is that again??).

for over 3 years i didn't wear my watch. i timed things the old-fashioned way. sun is up, breakfast time! high pitch cries, feeding time! sun setting, cuddle time! who needs a watch to dictate these things??

christmas this year brought many thoughtful pressies and lots of fun. hubby passed me a little gift that i slowly opened. it was a box from a local jewellers and inside was a beautiful new watch. immediately i realized that my girls were a little older and that my watch would no longer catch them or mark their skin. my hubby asked if i liked the watch but knew by my face i wasn't as excited as he thought i would be. "it is great, thanks". that was all i could muster. it was a very thoughtful gift and one that any other recipient would be grateful for. but that watch was a reminder that my girls were growing up and i could wear a watch again without fear of marking their tender skin.

so, it is now a few months since christmas morning and i still don't wear a watch. i did return the watch rob bought me and received a store credit. i decided to get my swiss army watch cleaned and tidied up so that it could be counted on to get me through the day as any good watch should. it is sitting on my bedside and will continue to do so until i decide the time is right. whenever that will be.