Getting a Hang of ItThere was no amount of books or articles a person could read to understand the stress it was to become a parent.
A few months have passed and Griffin had finally started to sleep through the night. I couldn't tell you how amazing it felt to sleep for more than two hours at a time. I felt like I could conquer the entire universe that first night. It was amazing though watching him grow into a little person with a personality. He quickly found out that if he became fussy enough that one of us would come to his rescue so we were trying to break him of that habit. I struggled with it most times though because I just wanted to hold and love him. Each day it got easier and easier to know what he needed and what each cry meant, when we first brought him home everything was in chaos. We weren't as prepared as we thought we were but we were finally getting a hang of it.
"How was work?" I asked.
"Fine, how Griffin doing?" He asked.
"Better, I called the doctor. She said to bring him in if it gets any higher."
Griffin had a fever and overall he just was feeling crappy. I walked into the nursery with Adam as he scooped him up.
"How are you doing buddy?" He cooed.
Griffin smiled from ear to ear.
My heart was full when I saw Adam interact with Griffin. Was it possible to love someone this much?
"I love watching you hold him." I smiled.
"Hard to believe he is going to be a toddler soon." He replied.
"I know, time for another one I guess."
He just looked at me.
I laughed, "Kidding!!"
"I wouldn't mind more, but maybe not quite yet."
I nodded.
"Okay my turn!" I said.
All the rules of not overly babying him went out the window when he was sick. I just wanted him to feel better and if holding helped even a little then that is what I would do.
...
Griffin grew up to be a toddler! To celebrate we took him to get his hair cut for the very first time and boy was he looking sharp!
"We're going to need a stick to beat the girls away." Adam shook his head.
"I mean look at him." I gushed.
"We're going to have to figure something out about a room for him." Adam told me.
"Maybe we could expand our room somehow." I mentioned.
"I'll contact someone to come out and look at it."
Thankfully between our two jobs we were living quite comfortably even after paying the bills. I had gotten a few other promotions before Griffin was born so that definitely helped.
"I'm going to go out for a bit." I told him.
"It's still light out a little bit." He told me.
"It'll be fine."
I walked outside and headed to the water. There was no one outside so I took it as everyone retired early. I took a deep breath before walking into the water, it was a bit chilly tonight but I knew it would warm up once I was used to it. It was nice to be able to swim again since I wasn't able to do it very much with Griffin needing more attention. I needed to get out more though because that small bathtub was not working anymore.
"Ellie!" I called.
I looked around.
"Ellie! Where are you girl?"
I heard her chirp before seeing her swim over.
"Hey!" I giggled.
"It's been a while, huh?" I asked.
She danced, making me giggle in return.
"I'm sorry, there's been someone stealing me away for a while. I hope one day you can meet him!"
We wouldn't know until Griffin was a child if he had the mermaid gene or not. I was nervous, and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a small part of me hoping he wasn't. I just didn't want him to live his life in fear and secrecy. I was lucky enough to have Adam who understood and supported me, but what if he was laughed at? Or called a freak because of it?
"What have you been up too?" I asked.
Ellie just chirped, telling me in her own language about her adventures.
"I'm sure whatever it is has been amazing. What I wouldn't give to be able to swim freely all the time."
She looked at me.
"Well, I better get back and check on my little guy."
I gave her a kiss.
I watched her swim off and waved goodbye.
"MOM!"
I froze.
"Mom! come look! A mermaid!!!"
I whipped around to see a kid behind me and he was pointing right at me. His mom walked over and I knew she saw me but I quickly dived underwater. What was I going to do? How did I handle it? More importantly, how was I suppose to get home? They would follow me if I went straight home so I decided it was best to swim low, literally, for a while. After about ten minutes I came back above water making sure that I was behind a rock before peeking to see if they were still there. Thankfully they seemed to be gone so I hurried on shore and back to the house. Adam was sitting on the couch when I walked back inside. He was going to be upset.
"How was the swim?" He asked.
"Fine, where is Griffin?" I asked.
"Bed, he went down without a fight."
"That's good."
I scratched the back of my head before slowly walking over and sitting on the couch.
"So, I have something to tell you." I started.
He turned the TV off and turned to face me.
"I was spotted."
"What?!" He gasped.
"A little kid saw me, and I think his mom saw him as well."
"Sierra." He groaned.
"I know! Okay? I know, I didn't see anyone! I didn't even recognize them!"
He sighed and looked around.
"Are you mad?"
"I mean, no, but I told you to be careful!"
"I know, but what do we do now?"
"Hope that they don't know where we live, and that they don't spread it around."
I looked at the ground.
"We'll figure it out." He said, rubbing my back.
...
"Are you sure I should go to work?" I asked.
"Yes, it's best to act normal." He told me.
"Okay, do you work today?"
"Nope, I am home all day with this little man!"
"Alright, well try to keep him tamed." I giggled.
"If not I will just tie him up."
I rolled my eyes.
The hours at work went slow but thankfully no one said anything so I was hoping that it was just a tourist. We did get those a lot so it wouldn't be too far of a fetch and it would mean that I would just have to be extra careful. I was glad to come home though, but I was less glad to come into what I did.
"Griffin! What did you do?!" I gasped.
He was standing in the middle of a puddle of paint.
"How?! I literally just went to the bathroom!" Adam gasped.
I giggled.
"What are you doing you silly boy?"
He babbled a few things before pointing to the couch. I brought him over and set him down before cleaning up the mess.
"I have a surprise for you." Adam told me.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Follow me."
I followed him into the bedroom to find out that the room was expanded! Griffin had a room of his own almost!
I heard Griffin babbling behind me. When I turned around I saw him sucking on his finger, which usually meant he was tired.
"Are you sleepy?" I asked.
He just looked at me and nodded slowly. I picked him up and placed him in the bed before covering him up.
"Sleep tight baby boy." I said.
I leaned over and kissed his forehead.
Once I was done tucking him I heard someone at the door. I couldn't find Adam so I assumed that he was at the beach. I walked over and answered the door, it was some lady.
"Hi, can I help you?" I asked.
"Are you a mermaid?"
BUM BUM BUMMMMM
