6/9/03
It's not officially nesting.
I remember right before Alex was born I would walk around the house needlessly moving pillows and wiping dust off things with my index finger. That's what nesting is about; nervous, unnecessary shifting of your home's contents. However this weekend's activities were more about scratching off some "to do" list items.
We painted the new baby's room (green), fixed the nail pops in the ceiling (18), Deb planted flowers, Allie watered the flowers. It was a semi-productive weekend aside from the ugliness of another Starz free movie weekend rearing it's seductive, sleep depriving head. You can't put the blame entirely on my shoulders. I wouldn't have even known about the free movie weekend if it weren't for the cable company leaving a canned message on our answering machine. "Don't forget it's another Starz free movie weekend! Tune in to channel 700 and catch great movies like Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Fast and the Furious!"
We saw the end of Goldmember and the last five minutes of The Fast and the Furious. Those aren't the kind of movies that keep me awake. The ones that I stay up for are the films that Debbie asks me about the next morning and I have no clue what it was to which I devoted three to four hours of attention.
"You didn't come to bed until 3:00. What was so interesting?"
"I don't remember. Something with subtitles. I think. Or maybe it was a weather alert at the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure now. I think I liked it. Oh, I drooled on one of the green pillows. How do we get that out?"
In my defense I will remind you that this waste of time occurred in the wee hours when everyone else was asleep. I got things done during the day. I'm taking care of business making sure the new baby knows we made some effort to prepare for his/her arrival. But I'll admit that there isn't quite the sense of urgency we felt when Allie was one her way. Who knows, maybe we won't even bother with nesting this time around. After all, our house has already made the transition we just need to redeploy all of the baby stuff that's sitting down in the basement covered in dusty garbage bags. I know the baby won't really notice that everything, from his/her baby swing to his/her slightly stained jumper, has already been used.
For some reason I feel a little guilty about it. Not guilty enough to go buy new stuff, but sensitive enough that I'll go ahead and lie to the baby. I'll repackage as many baby toys as I can and maybe I'll shrink wrap Allie's old nighties. I'll make a big deal of opening them up in front of the new kid. "Look what Daddy just ordered from Pottery Barn Babies! I had it shipped to the office. That's why you didn't see a delivery guy. Stain? What stain? It's a design element. Cute, huh?"
I'm sure that despite the fact the kid will be practically born yesterday he/she won't buy it. But I will have made the effort and that'll make me feel better.
I suppose I should be asking myself a more important question: If we're not devoting as much time to preparing for this baby, will we devote as much attention to it after it arrives?
The answer is, "No. We will not."
In fact, I'm pretty sure this baby is on it's own. It's not that we won't love it as much as our first child, it's just that Deb and I are now privy to the big secret. And that secret is: It's hard to kill a baby.
They're resilient little suckers. Heck, they're so full of cartilage, they practically bounce. I know, I dropped Allie on a hardwood floor when she was six months old. She's fine! And cleaning them is more of an olfactory benefit rather than a hygiene issue. And regardless of what your fancy, schmancy pediatrician tells you, you can feed a baby anything that you don't need to chew. I'm not saying that Allie survived exclusively on Pudding Packs and Carnation Instant Breakfast, but let's just say she still drools a little at the sound of a foil lid being peeled from a plastic container.
I think I've said too much. This is often the case which is why I'm glad you responded when I wanted to know what you had done last weekend.
Judy wrote and let us know that Glenn planted the garden and flower beds. She cleaned out a dresser for Allie's room that she'll bring down when she comes to stay with us in a week or two. On Sunday she and Glenn watched The Big Joe Polka Show. If you haven't seen this show, you're missing out. Big Joe wears these outfits that look like a cross between a majorette's costume and pastel rental tux. He has all the big named polka bands come and play while people spin around on the dance floor. It's absolutely compelling television. Allie likes to dance around her Grandma and Grandpa's living room whenever it comes on. I'll ask Glenn and Judy to tape some episodes for me and I'll make them available to you upon request.
Sharon's email started like this: Our weekend began by spending the evening at my Mom's in what was supposed to be a quiet repose after enjoying one of her delicious meals. Nikki and the kids were there... it was going to be a good thing.
We hadn't counted on a tornado ripping through southwest Clinton, cutting off power to Maroa for about an hour. That hour was spent trying to entertain two toddlers and keep their mind off the dark rooms that were lurking beyond the soft glow of the Coleman lantern.
The message ended with everyone being okay and her granddaughter confusing the word "flamingo" with "clamingo".
Marcia dropped me a line letting me know that she painted and painted then painted some more. This is a big deal considering the fact that a couple of years ago she probably wouldn't have been able to lift a paint can, let alone spread it all over the walls. But my Mom is a tenacious character, especially when it comes to the appearance of her home. I sometimes wonder if she knows I never make my bed anymore. I probably shouldn't add to the horror for my poor mother by mentioning we don't make Allie make hers either.
Jon didn't write to me, specifically, about his weekend, however he did write about it and you should read it.
Dwayne and Rachel spent the weekend being ill to the point they had to go to the doctor. I'll spare you the details except for the fact that they both are on the mend. I wouldn't have known this except I gave Dwayne a call asking for some workout advice. If you've read these posts you may recall that Dwayne and I once worked out together. I can't believe that I've completely forgotten how to exercise. Dwayne seemed pleased that I was at least asking questions again. "What are you doing for cardio?" he asked. I lied and told him I was going to be on the treadmill. The fact is my exercise plan actually consisted of some biceps curls combined with lots of sitting quietly rehydrating, post workout, with cream soda.
Next time I'm going to write about something very interesting. You won't want to miss it.
