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May 31, 2005
It's a tidbit kind of day
I'm tired, so stringing together something thoughtful and pithy probably isn't going to happen. Here's some chunks from my day:
Clara "Ambien" Jane woke up before 7 a.m. this morning. Now, I know those of you with early-rising children are going to hate me for this, and I totally encourage you to hurl heavy items and obscenities at me. But dammit, it's soooooooooo hard when she wakes up that early. She usually sleeps until 8-8:30. I'm spoiled. Slap me.
But the good news: we were able to make our weekly Target pilgrimage early, before all the good parking spaces by the cart corrals were taken. While we were there, we had the type of encounter that leads to me drawing conclusions about the lack of friendliness in this city.
There was another mom that we kept seeing in the store. She had an infant and a little boy, about two years old. Granted, it was before 10 a.m. and she was carting around a couple of kids, which gives her every right to be surly. I would be, too. I smiled every time I saw her, and every time she glared at me.
But her little boy ... oh, he had eyes for Clara Jane. Whenever we'd pass he'd just gaze at her and grin. Around the fifth time we saw them, he paused, smiled, and said hi to her.
Clara Jane looked at him, looked at me, pointed at him and announced, "Mama! He's a baby!" The poor little guy looked absolutely crushed, not realizing that in Clara Jane's vernacular, everyone is a baby. His mother glared at me extra-hard for that one.
Clara Jane asked to take a nap when we got home. Parents with poor sleepers, you're welcome to kick me in the shins and my husband in the groin for that one. If you could see how Clara Jane presses her hand to the side of her face (the sign for "sleep") and sighs, "Seeeeep," you'd probably want to kick her, too. Or maybe just startle her. It's adorable and it makes me absurdly thankful that for the most part, I have the easiest child in the world.
She napped. I knitted. I've finally started working on my first sweater project. It's a darling little pink and pink varigated striped hoodie from the beautiful Nursery Knits. I finished the baby blanket I was knitting; now I just need to learn how to block it.
This afternoon, after making catering deliveries, I sat myself down and watched a rerun of "Oprah" regarding how women should release their inner sexpot. I've got some issues with this. And of course, you're going to hear them:
1. One week, Oprah is whole-heartedly agreeing with Trinny and Susannah that us gals need to give up the flimsy support-nothing underdrawers and go for the supportive granny garments that are ugly on the inside but pretty on the outside. Now Oprah's whole-heartedly agreeing with Kim Catrall that we need to ditch the granny panties and go with the thongs. Which one is it, Oprah? And why are you so interested in my underdrawers, anyway?
2. Don't tell me that I have an inner sexpot who's dying to get out. I had an inner sexpot, once, way back when. I killed her. She was crushed to death under the mounds of belly flab after the support system of my abdominals muscles was destroyed to retrieve the human being that was created by that inner sexpot. Ever see a front porch collapse with a hound dog under it? That's what happened to her. And just to make really sure she's dead, I suffocate her every day with my granny panties.
3. Frumpy, balding men who are still wearing their circa 1983 Member's Only jackets in a non-ironic way who complain that their wives are no longer the slutty little dreamboats who wooed them into marriage need to be crushed under a porch. Or they need to experience first-hand the inner-thigh chafing that happens when you wear a G-string and hump a pole to your Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease DVDs.
I'm not feeling very empowered right now, Oprah.
I'm supposed to go to the zoo tomorrow, but I'm thinking about cancelling. I'm going to call in fat and frumpy. You know you're feeling fat and frumpy when you don't feel glam enough to go to the zoo.
Posted by Robin at May 31, 2005 08:15 PM
Comments
I think it's something in the air over St. Louis. Today an older lady at the YMCA was complaining to me about how damp she felt so I offered her some powder from my gym bag. "I don't WANT your POWDER!" she told me emphatically, as if I was offering her a line of coke instead of baby powder.
I also have a late sleeper so I sympathize with the early waking. It's a bad day when he's up before 8:00 a.m., so I guess I'll just line up for the slaps, too.
Posted by: Ginny at May 31, 2005 09:07 PM
I hope I get late sleepers! LOL
Target....my favorite! :)
Posted by: bari at June 1, 2005 10:00 AM
We've been here over 12 years and just in the past couple have I made any friends who weren't transplants themselves (and those from college alumni and my art group). Having kids helps because there is more opportunity to meet people at pre-school and school. It might have helped if we were "church-going" people. Hmmm.
Posted by: Jane at June 1, 2005 11:00 AM
Shoot. That comment was supposed to be on the previous post.
Posted by: Jane at June 1, 2005 11:02 AM
I've been feeling pretty frumpy these days myself. I thought it was Mariah Carey's fault but now, I know it's all Oprah's fault. Say no to butt floss! Love ya!
Posted by: Marybeth at June 1, 2005 01:06 PM
I would never find sexy anyone in a "members only" jacket, even if they were an ironic-20-something.
I'm all for irony but those jackets need to go.
Posted by: Kira at June 1, 2005 05:59 PM
Brace yourself for a slap AND a kick in the shins. ;) Damn. How do ya'll get these late sleepers that beg for naps?! 'Cuz I want one next time around, dammit!
Although, Pops, "seeeeeeep" sounds so freaking cute. How do you just not scoop her up and cover her with smooches and spit? Or do you?
I've been thinking about grandma panties. Mostly since wearing a pair of control top pantyhose to church on Sunday and having everybody tell me how fabulous I looked. *sigh* Contemplating support garments is never a pretty thing.
Posted by: beege at June 1, 2005 06:52 PM
Trinny and Susannah need a serious bitch slapping. If either of them grabbed my girls and told me I needed a better support garment, I'd send their corpses back to jolly old England in matching Pucci-inspired body bags.
I couldn't find Brain, Child for you in San Jose. I'll see if I still have a copy or two laying around and if I do, I'll send those along.
Posted by: m at June 1, 2005 07:09 PM




