Alternate Title: Still No Baby
In more positive news, Baby M. will arrive tomorrow or Monday. That’s as late as they’re letting Younger Daughter go. The risk of infection is too great and thankfully, she’s at 36 weeks. The experts measure M. at shy of 6 pounds, so he’ll be a little ‘un. Unlike many people, I’m not intimidated by tiny babies; I love watching them pick up double chins and arm rolls. Like my sweet Obro!
In the meantime, Anders’ dad and I are tag teaming and trading off spending the night with him while YD is in the hospital. That situation can be tricky on many levels. I’m far out of the Pack Mule stage of parenting, hate hauling things from house to house and almost always forget something important, like a toothbrush. And although the father and I try to get along, he’s much like another child: unreliable at times, self-centered, scattered and clueless about adulting. For tomorrow he told me that he wanted me to have Anders in the early afternoon, so he could work on his car. However, Older Daughter is bringing Sharky and Obro over to see me and that supersedes his hobby. What I did with my “free” afternoon today? I pulled hoses and put bib covers on, mowed my back lawn/leaves and vacuumed my house. Fun times.
Of course, Anders is charming, extremely verbal and frighteningly intelligent and I do enjoy our adventures. He loves my Alexa light changing light bulb. He’s a tease though, “Make it brown! Make it black!” Here he’s eating his second big bowl of oatmeal after polishing off a bunch of blueberries and strawberries. Incidentally, this is at my daughter’s house. After breakfast, he’s been asking to go to Grandma’s house (“See Mari!) LOL, I don’t have the heart to tell him that Mari hates kids!
Due to the imminent arrival of Baby M. Anders and I bought flowers at the grocery store and took them to the cemetery. Happy Early Birthday, Brother Don! If M. is born tomorrow, they will share a birthday.
Veterans Day is the 11th, but I may be VERY BUSY then. Baby holding or wrangling a toddler or both. 🙂 Semper Paratis, Patt!
Semper Fi to my beloved Dad! For four years my mom’s section was blank; it’s still so strange to see her name there.
There were several patches of freakishly huge mushrooms at the cemetery. I should have put my shoe next to them to show their immensity.
Today is the 10 year anniversary of John’s wife’s death. I always send him an “I’m thinking about you” message and he responds, “Thank you.” This year he included a “Memories” song and shared that it had made him weepy. He’s usually so stoic. John and I have never seen each other on this date; I think he spends it talking about Christine with her friends and family. Like me, he tries not to focus on her death, but more on her life. It takes a while to get to that frame of mind though. It’s been nearly 13 years for me, yet this time of year still holds many painful memories. Death doesn’t resemble the glamorized version in books and films. Like birth, it’s a process, not random at all. There are stages that a dying person goes through and they aren’t necessarily pretty or romantic. On several occasions, friends have mentioned that their terminal loved one is “not eating much and sleeping most of the time.” Oh, dear, how to tell them that they’re not really sleeping? It’s more like a coma; they’re pulling away from the world. The people and things that have been vitally important for them in their lives drop away. I remember the sense of loss with my husband and parents when suddenly, they drew deep into themselves, and I no longer existed for them. A long goodbye.
Today I laughed at the joy on Anders’ face as he watched his parents make a blanket “fly.”
I’m very fortunate that there is also beauty right across the street from me. Autumn is such a glorious season on a chilly, but sunny day in the Pacific Northwest!
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