Me?
Feeling cute. Might throw a few rhymes out later...
Or maybe just be "the mom who brings her kid to preschool covered in glitter makeup, full body marker tats and short sleeves on a cold day, while everyone else's kids are all super cutesy coordinated." We're the Burning Man of mother-daughter duos.
Dig my colorful sox (not picture - see any pre-child years of blogs) and the rainbow sunglasses of a cat vomitting rainbows. I think you know where we, the family, stand on your coordinated boots, hat, bento meal tote, and thermos!
After roughly seven months of Chaya planning to "Go to Halloweeeeen," we are legitimately close to Halloween. First Halloween party down, even.
That's right. As of a few days ago, I'm a bonafide member of a legit "Mom's Club" now. I verified my existence by attending a Halloween party and making lightening-round small talk with more women than I have talked with in the last year total. They verified I have a child who was appropriately dressed in some vague costume and who seemed to enjoy crafts and cookies, so definitely a real girl. I ran a few massive hazings with lines of baby spit up and poopy diapers running through a Target at 8 a.m. grabbing wipes and Pirate Booty bags...
Like that, I'm in. Apparently I should now attend playdates and even arrange some, occasionally indulging in a mom's night out. We'll see. It's possible. I'll have recovered from the party in roughly three months or so. But legitimately, I liked a lot of the women I met. And, you know, want to spend time with them.
Just so the momship doesn't entirely define me I am now also a member of a Spanish Conversation Practice Group. They meet at Panera once a week, which is way less on the nose than say Taco Bell. Everyone is really nice. Abilities range from total beginner to fairly intermediate so I smudge acceptably in. With my complete lack of formal education, I'm oddly proficient in some areas punched through with massive rudimentary learning gaps so this is actually probably a better fit than a more structured level-specific thing. Need me to perfectly recite romantic song lyrics? I'm your gal. I'll even do it with an accent that makes you suspect i know what i'm saying. Need me to construct a basic sentence expressing some concept of the passing of time? Actually i can do this, but I would prefer to sit alone in a room and write it out first. So basic conversation practice with a side of "hey grammar" is exactly what I need as much as it scares the bejeezus out of me. And hey, I've now actually been inside a Panera so that's genial and stuff.Also, it gives Andrew and Chaya an excuse to eat out together and have ungodly amounts of decadent craziness that i only have to hear about. Win-win.
But back to the mom-hazing.
In the wake of our membership Halloween Party...
Things got seasonally gross!
After a wild orgy of Halloween goodness, Chaya was in feisty-to-frenzied seasonal spirits. Channeling a fine straddle 'twixt banshee and ghoul, she danced and shrieked through naptime with the occasional googly eyed eruption. She leapt on daddy when he got home full of googly eyes and guts.
Then... she requested to come back from from the playground. She insisted she'd rather not have dinner.
She just wanted to be held by dinner.
I left the table and sat on the couch with her until we agreed an early bedtime was in order. Kiddo was a few shades paler than paper (the primo printer paper that she always wants solely because it's locked away in daddy's office) and murmured a several doleful remarks about her tummy.
As I lay her to sleep so tenderly, well... the sleeping on her stomach may have broken the flood gates. Short little gag. A bit of vomit on the pillow. Immediate stirring to facilitate maximum spewing. On mommy. On the ground. Chunks of undigested cheese stick EVERYWHERE. Never ever coming out of the carpet. And definitely not mommy's pores. And an aftershock right in mommy's face. Eyes and mouth ftw.
Saturday. We couch surfed. I never had quite the geyser-like symptoms but I eventually felt like death. Having your mouth and eyes filled with projectile vomit can do that to ya!
Andrew was feeling more productive. He hung pictures. Things look nice.
Andrew was feeling more productive. He hung pictures. Things look nice.
Sunday...
She puked again.
I lived the mom-life by making my febrile filly watch Bowie-in-Tights-With-Puppets (You Remind me of the Babe. What Babe? Who cares, David Bowie's pants are SOOOO tight!)...
...and then spending the entire movie texting other moms about how seriously hot a Goblin King Bowie makes and what we'd like him to do to us in his magical goblin kingdom (followed by follow up conversations about which Blues Clues host was the cutest... Duh ... Steve). As if there were any doubt I could be the member of a Moms Group. Cleared that right up!
The original plan for the weekend had been to meet Andrew's Uncle and Aunt at the aquarium. They were in the area for a San Juan's cruise. We were in the area because... well we live here.
Chaya was so so excited. The aquarium is like Christmas and Halloween all wrapped in one. She was READY. Other than the puking.
And...
So so disappointed when she was too sick to go.
Andrew's lovely relatives were exceptionally game and ventured into our little disease hole to hang with us at home instead.
Chaya was less flexible.
There was howling and misery and demands to go to the aquarium.
Finally, I negotiated stopping at the closest pet store. Which was better than the aquarium. Also way more convenient for when she totally flagged 15 minutes after and we took her back home for more couch surfing
...and then spending the entire movie texting other moms about how seriously hot a Goblin King Bowie makes and what we'd like him to do to us in his magical goblin kingdom (followed by follow up conversations about which Blues Clues host was the cutest... Duh ... Steve). As if there were any doubt I could be the member of a Moms Group. Cleared that right up!
The original plan for the weekend had been to meet Andrew's Uncle and Aunt at the aquarium. They were in the area for a San Juan's cruise. We were in the area because... well we live here.
Chaya was so so excited. The aquarium is like Christmas and Halloween all wrapped in one. She was READY. Other than the puking.
And...
So so disappointed when she was too sick to go.
Andrew's lovely relatives were exceptionally game and ventured into our little disease hole to hang with us at home instead.
Chaya was less flexible.
There was howling and misery and demands to go to the aquarium.
Finally, I negotiated stopping at the closest pet store. Which was better than the aquarium. Also way more convenient for when she totally flagged 15 minutes after and we took her back home for more couch surfing
And the following Friday...
We connected with the Temple this way and went to our very first Family Shabbat at Temple DeHirsch Sinai.
We connected with the Temple this way and went to our very first Family Shabbat at Temple DeHirsch Sinai.
There were dinosaurs - having been to two different temples big into dinosaurs, I can now say that I think it's a Jewish thing. There was food (clearly a sign we're no longer in Bellingham - the food was not expressly vegan and gluten free but a giant heaping of chicken soup and cheesy spaghetti). There was singing. And tons of kids. All in all what we've been looking for. Other than the rainy inundation on the way home. But can't really blame them for that. Actually it was Sukkot and they were ceremonially trying to bring the rain, so... maybe I can.
On Saturday Chaya finally got her wish and was sent off for an overnight with her Gramma. Took some shenanigans getting there - mostly involving more rain AND the lovely and strangely transitioning town of Duvall (DOOOOOOOOO-val, not DoVAHL, mind you - say it right)
Upon wrapping those up and dumping the child, we returned and promptly set about our miles and miles of to-dos that simply can't be done wth a child around. Organizing. Papers. Books...
...
Ha! No. We intended to, but actually we pretty much took a nap. Stayed in bed hanging out until dinner. Got take out. Watched Alien. Went back to bed... That's heaven in parent terms. It. Was. Heaven. Straight up.
On the way out we tried to meet my friend Justin. Wires got crossed in a flood of cold medicine, so we had to circle back but with some persistence and the miracle of telephones and google maps we connected!! I got to meet his girlfriend and now I have a girl-crush. Which is to say I'm super happy for Justin and just got to pump her business: Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles. Check out Bewilderness Puzzles. I know cool people.
And it was good to see Justin for however brief a jaunt.
Justin is one of those friends who never quite crept into any of the major stories of my life. We never shared a romantic/sexual connection and all the narrative forces that come with that. We weren't roomies or besties or even partners. He didn't travel in any of my main tribes. He was just this cool cuddly guy I'd hang out with, maybe go drinking with, maybe just snuggle in front of a film. Occasionally cry my ass off while sloppy drunk about one of the people in the above categories. (Just the once!) And occasionally do Chinese homework with.
Those warm friendly extroverts with the big bear hugs. They do wonders for the soul sometimes.
That was actually a good era for those sorts of side-to-story friendships. Folks I adored but had no skin in the game with; the kind and who could come and go with minimal upheaval but brought the warmth up several degrees when they came.
I definitely had my besties. My passionate entanglements. My overly complicated relationships and agonizingly sincere everythings...
But I also had this really pleasant handful of intimate or deeply affectionate companionship fully independent of the intensities of attachments, loyalties, and intensities that complicate these things. It was kind of a nice almost mindless abundance against the greater scheme of affections and feelingsishes. More than acquaintances. Just cool free-floating friends.
So, c'mon mom friends and amigos...
“I love humanity, but I wonder at myself, because the more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular."
But in reverse more often.
How casually something can be said in one context (Hey female friend I mostly know on facebook, that joke you posted on my page was hilarious, I LOOOOOOVE YOU!) and how fastidiously significant in another (you know what boyfriend of four months, can I just say I like-like you because love... I mean whew!)... Maybe because I was just whimsically bored in Chaya's absence Sunday morning and reading too many of her H.A. Rey sorties...
I just wanna say...
dear reader...
C'm'ere! Gimme a great big hug! Thanks for sticking around.
On Saturday Chaya finally got her wish and was sent off for an overnight with her Gramma. Took some shenanigans getting there - mostly involving more rain AND the lovely and strangely transitioning town of Duvall (DOOOOOOOOO-val, not DoVAHL, mind you - say it right)
Upon wrapping those up and dumping the child, we returned and promptly set about our miles and miles of to-dos that simply can't be done wth a child around. Organizing. Papers. Books...
...
Ha! No. We intended to, but actually we pretty much took a nap. Stayed in bed hanging out until dinner. Got take out. Watched Alien. Went back to bed... That's heaven in parent terms. It. Was. Heaven. Straight up.
On the way out we tried to meet my friend Justin. Wires got crossed in a flood of cold medicine, so we had to circle back but with some persistence and the miracle of telephones and google maps we connected!! I got to meet his girlfriend and now I have a girl-crush. Which is to say I'm super happy for Justin and just got to pump her business: Making Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles. Check out Bewilderness Puzzles. I know cool people.
And it was good to see Justin for however brief a jaunt.
Justin is one of those friends who never quite crept into any of the major stories of my life. We never shared a romantic/sexual connection and all the narrative forces that come with that. We weren't roomies or besties or even partners. He didn't travel in any of my main tribes. He was just this cool cuddly guy I'd hang out with, maybe go drinking with, maybe just snuggle in front of a film. Occasionally cry my ass off while sloppy drunk about one of the people in the above categories. (Just the once!) And occasionally do Chinese homework with.
Those warm friendly extroverts with the big bear hugs. They do wonders for the soul sometimes.
That was actually a good era for those sorts of side-to-story friendships. Folks I adored but had no skin in the game with; the kind and who could come and go with minimal upheaval but brought the warmth up several degrees when they came.
I definitely had my besties. My passionate entanglements. My overly complicated relationships and agonizingly sincere everythings...
But I also had this really pleasant handful of intimate or deeply affectionate companionship fully independent of the intensities of attachments, loyalties, and intensities that complicate these things. It was kind of a nice almost mindless abundance against the greater scheme of affections and feelingsishes. More than acquaintances. Just cool free-floating friends.
So, c'mon mom friends and amigos...
“I love humanity, but I wonder at myself, because the more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular."
But in reverse more often.
How casually something can be said in one context (Hey female friend I mostly know on facebook, that joke you posted on my page was hilarious, I LOOOOOOVE YOU!) and how fastidiously significant in another (you know what boyfriend of four months, can I just say I like-like you because love... I mean whew!)... Maybe because I was just whimsically bored in Chaya's absence Sunday morning and reading too many of her H.A. Rey sorties...
I just wanna say...
dear reader...
I Love You
Simple words that say so much.
Though oh so vague and imprecise
What lovers coo with tender touch
yet also said to kids and mice.
To family & those certain friends,
Where meaning is no thing at all.
...A certain point the freedom ends
Where question of loves' types might fall
Because the things that love can mean
Span cutesy smiles to Trojan War
through which it can be hard to glean
does it - or not -say "something more"
Best not to say that big old phrase
Unless you parse out as you can
clarity within that haze
or maybe pause and add in "...man"
You can add in "man" or "pal"
maybe "kiddo," "dude" or "bud"
The modifiers all which shall
turn desert of desirous flood
And oh our language is so full
of words to show a "loving" feel:
affection, fondness, and the pull
of dear agape and zeal
I yearn, I care, or oh you rock
Yer neat, I like, adore, regard...
Gestures all around the block
it really isn't very hard.
But oh that phrase and how it sticks
and lingers on my fond glad lips
across a universe of picks
the rest they hide in LOVE's eclipse
So open wide your arms! I'll smile,
as I shrug and shrug anew
as I shrug and shrug anew
& shyly hesitate a while...
then boldly say "Hey, I love you"
C'm'ere! Gimme a great big hug! Thanks for sticking around.
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