2006
brer rabbit, work your charms
maura @ 11:09 pm
I should be writing a real post now — it’s been so long — but I’m tired and still need to get a bit more packing in tonight. We’re off to Florida soon to see Jonathan’s family and take Gus to SeaWorld. Hopefully it will be fun + relaxing — Gus tends to ignore us when Grandma’s around so J + I are dreaming of lots of poolside cocktails.
I’ve been ruminating on a big ol’ post about consumerism and anti-consumerism, but you’ll all just have to wait a while longer for that one.
Some things:
– Spring is nearly here, the daffodils and hyacinths have bloomed, and the crocuses in front of our building are even over. It’s time for us to get back to the botanic gardens for a visit before the cherry blossoms hit and the whole dang city invades. Looks like the strawberries and chives survived the winter in our courtyard, but the mint and lavender have not. We’ll need to get on that now if there are to be mojitos in the summer.
– An old friend made some mp3s of a mixtape made by another old friend, and I am really enjoying the indiepop wayback machine that it is. Passmore Sisters! French Impressionists! So very nice.
– Reading Anne Lamott makes me feel so much better about everything. She’s like a nice warm blanket and fresh baked cookies.
– The article by Calvin Trillin in last week’s New Yorker about his late wife Alice nearly made me cry.
– I also read this new book by Marrit Ingram last week, and it is really really good for stopping child-related pity parties of any sort. 4 yr old with an attitude? Better than a projectile-vomiting, excema-covered infant any damn day of the week!
5 comments on “brer rabbit, work your charms”
Yay for cocktails! I’m going to have one right now (well, maybe a beer, as we don’t really have any cocktail fixin’s).
“Normal” is a state of mind! When you’re a mom it’s “normal” to not be able to find any real change, just Chuck E. Cheese tokens and smashed/imprinted pennies from museums. All the washclothes are puppets, and if you walk across a room with too much force some of the toys start spouting songs and lessons. (Especially that damn Alphabug, he’s baaaack!) This is not to mention the grosser stuff, like yurp on all the shoulders of your clothes. There are also so many unanswered questions. The latest are Beatles-version, such as “Is love REALLY all you need?” plus misc. questions about the plot line in the Yellow Submarine movie; the latter is just too hard. (What IS the Nowhere Man anyway, bunny? Koala? Small ape?)
Yeah, it was all the unanswered questions that helped convince me I could be a librarian, actually. I mean, my whole day is like a shift at the reference desk.
Lately we’re getting lots of observations, like “Mommy? Did you know that the birthday kid actually gets *less* frosting, because when you pull out the candles they take some frosting with them?” Who thinks of that? Frosting-obsessed 4.5 yr olds, I guess.
Some of this is a boy thing. I asked alot of questions but never considered how much frosting! Tell him–birthday boys get flame and melted wax, isn’t that enough?!?
You know what’s funny? When the projectile-vomiting, eczema-covered infant grows up to be a four-year-old with an attitude. Life with children can be challenging even when it’s “normal.” Everybody needs compassion and the occasional cocktail, unless they’re in recovery or something.