Milestones.

Babyhood is, of course, marked by many milestones:  smiling, laughing, rolling over, sitting up, cooing, and babbling to just name a few.   In the past week, I've encountered two less publicized but equally significant markers:  leaving Buster in the church nursery and leaving my brains who-knows-where.

The nursery thing has been weeks in the coming.  We've practiced with five minute and ten minute stints in nursery care.  This week, however, we went for the full deal.  It went something like this:  I take Buster to the nursery fully prepared to sit and play on the floor with him for the duration of church should he show any signs of distress.  He shows no true distress as our friend takes him from my arms and tells me to go and enjoy church.  I hesitate and find several reasons to stick around for a few more minutes.  I dig through the diaper bag and lay out his favorite toys.  I spread out his fleece blankie on the floor.  I adjust his clip-on pacifier.  I procrastinate until I start to feel silly.

Then I kiss Buster and leave.

And I watch him from around the corner like some sort of secret service agent or spy.   He seems fine.  Our friend looks at me, gives me the "thumbs up" and mouths "go".  I go.  And I return seven minutes later.  He's still fine.  He's playing on the floor surrounded by toddlers who are thrilled to have a baby to pay attention to and offer every single toy in the nursery to.  Buster looks like a king accepting gifts from his toddler peasants. I leave again and return to spy.  And leave and spy.  You get the picture.  Basically, Buster did great and greeted me with a gummy grin at the end of church.  Big milestone for Buster.  Even bigger for his mom.

The other milestone, the brains thing, is one that I've heard other mom friends mention.  They talk about feeling like they lose their brains as they have babies.  There has probably already been plenty of evidence of this in our household, but the most obvious happened this past week.  I had made some roast beef for dinner.  We had some leftovers so I made note that I would try to use it later in the week.   Later in the week came around and I started to feel like old lady from the Wendy's commercial, asking "where's the beef?"  It was nowhere to be found.  Until it was found.  By my husband.  In a tupperware container.  Stacked neatly in the drawer with all the other (empty) tupperware containers.  He looked at me like I was kind of crazy.

But in my mind I knew that I had just checked off another milestone of motherhood:  I've left my brains elsewhere.

I'm sure I'll find them again.  I think I'll start by checking the tupperware drawer.