Six weeks into motherhood, I was exhausted—mentally and physically.
Owen and I had always been solid, but after our son Leo was born, he started acting distant. He came home late, disappeared nightly for about an hour, and asked not to be disturbed. I felt abandoned just when I needed him most.
Then one night, I heard Leo fussing and glanced at the baby monitor—and froze.
In the soft glow of the nursery, Owen sat cross-legged on the floor, tangled in yarn, following a finger-knitting tutorial on his phone.
That’s when it hit me: he wasn’t avoiding me—he was secretly learning to knit.
Weeks earlier, I had mentioned how much I loved Leo’s baby blanket. Owen remembered. He’d been spending his precious free time trying to make one for me.
When he finally showed me the half-finished blanket, he looked embarrassed by its imperfections.
But to me, every uneven stitch was beautiful—a quiet gesture of love and effort. He hadn’t checked out; he was showing up in his own way.
Later, he surprised me with the completed blanket and a little “half-birthday” celebration for Leo (but clearly, it was for me too).
I cried—not for the gift, but for what it meant.
In the chaos of new parenthood, Owen had found a way to show his love, one loop at a time.
We were still a team, just learning to thread our way through this new chapter together.
