Saturday, July 21, 2007
Vacation
Something about your daddy
Posted on July 19, 2007
Once a night, the last two weeks in a row, your wonderful daddy has fallen asleep on the floor between both of your cribs.
There is no carpet on that floor. Just hard wood. Just goldfish crumbs. Just chewable blocks.
After nearly an hour of crying at bedtime, he’s laid down on that cold floor, and waited for you two to fall asleep. He’s done it to help you, and to help me finally get a break after a long day of no breaks.
He’s done it after being gone nearly 12 hours, leaving often before you wake and arriving home just before you go to sleep. He’s done it after struggling with commuting to work so that we need only one car, and ultimately, can avoid putting you in day care. He’s done it for us. Read more...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Doors, Shut and Open
Posted on July 18, 2007
One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Too true.
Toys, for instance. The baby carrot hasn't been seen since April, and the baby bunny is getting hungry. The little doll girl's skirt. The green shovel. All will be uncovered no doubt when we pack up the house.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
The hours badly spent are accumulating--mostly on the computer, writing emails when I have a million other things to do.
Or books. Magazine subscription forms. Email addresses. Telephone numbers. Deadlines and promises. Minor losses, slipping away; putting things down, forgetting to pick them up again. Apologies piling up in summer snowdrifts. "Sorry, sorry; overwhelmed, busy, forgetful, stressed. I forgot." Losing peace and losing sleep. Read more...
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
An open letter to the crack whore who marries Boy, from a grateful mother-in-law
Posted on July 16, 2007
July 16, 2033
Dear Madam:
Oh. I'm sorry - is "Madam" rude? A little too ... um, relevant? I wasn't sure exactly sure how to address you. Crack whore seemed a bit strong, really. A tad, um... harsh. Would CW be OK? I do apologize. Man and I just aren't too familiar with these kinds of things, and had never really envisioned becoming so, either, when our sweet little Boy was placed in our arms for the first time all those years ago. You know - it's the same for everyone really. You count the fingers, toes, and when they're OK, it jumps right to dreaming of him as a captain of industry, doctor, maybe even lawyer, all because of your many strenuous efforts to secure the best preschool and baseball camp in town. And read a lot of the good doctors Seuss and Brazelton.
Well, that's what we, in our innocence, thought, CW. Read more...
Monday, July 16, 2007
In Search of a Smile
Posted on July 16, 2007
Sage's birth announcements have finally arrived, two months to the day after the actual birth that the cards are designed to announce. You know, since they are called birth announcements and all. Now who in our circle hasn't yet heard about my youngest daughter, I don't know, but here I am in any case, applying ugly 41 cent Liberty Bell stamps (it was that or Star Wars) to the top right corner of a hundred envelopes. Etiquette dictates that This is What You Do and who am I to argue with etiquette. Besides, I need one for the page of the baby book that says "attach announcement here."
Never mind that I don't have a baby book. Minor detail. Read more...
