I am full of gossip & spicy chicken & hearty vegetable stew & ultrarich hot chocolate & organic olives. Despite the near-collapse of Baby Club, Thursdays are still a wonderful blend of visiting & talking & eating & thinking & adventuring. Today was better than most, as I had a chance for a long lunch with Dirk & Blake and then a longer rest at Andrea & Kate's house. And Blake was a sweet angel all day long, from his long morning nap that allowed me to feel human as I went about my day to his docile behaviour at Ein-stein's. (He ate cold veggie stew! Sitting in my lap, 2 inches away from his favourite food! He ate without singing or tricks or any real effort on my part! I. Am. Gobsmacked.)

My mother bought him a grey pull-over hoodie this week, and I've been using it as his fall jacket. He looks so cute in it that I want to gobble him up. And I spend a great deal of time around him, so I hardly ever feel the immediate urge to gobble him up anymore (only when his feet come out of socks and when he's damp from the bath. Really.) As if this wasn't enough cute, he's started using his index finger to blurble his lips like a cartoon crazyman and it's just about the funniest thing ever. And he likes to cruise around with his tongue stuck firmly between his lips, like he's tasting the wind resistance.

I feel like he's my tiny best friend who can't speak English and depends on me to be everything from a pantry to a jester. It's like I have a small, demanding sidekick.

I. Love. Him.

The wedding last Saturday was the first we've been to in about a year and a half in which we were actually on time. We were also speaking to each other, which was a pleasant change from the norm. We got to the gorgeous Orthodox Church just in time to see the last couple lumber away in their stretch Hummer. This caused a brief moment of panic. (We later learned that there were weddings all day long in the church. This explained why the cantor yawned, chewed gum & leaned on his elbow throughout the wedding ceremony. Poor tired cantor.)

Inside we found a seat on the end of an aisle next to Noizangel & Spherewalker. "Blake looks casual & comfortable," Noizangel remarked. "Actually, that's his classy outfit," I replied. "I guess it's kind of sad that the dressiest thing we have for fall is a sweatshirt with a horse on it, but there it is."

Blake was reasonably well-behaved throughout the wedding, considering that he's never made it all the way through a church service without a lot of walking and strategic use of a pacifier. For the first 15 minutes he sat silently in my lap, and I began to think that he would be perfect the whole time. Then the clock ran out on his unnatural good behaviour and I was eventually forced to nurse him at the back of the church. Oh well; that's why I bought a nice dress that zips up the front. I was still able to catch most of the service, or at least, most of the parts that were in English. I liked the service - very intricate, very beautiful - but I have to say that it didn't really involve me as an observer in the way of Preacher & Martha or Monstre & Loftwyr's wedding. Still, those are minor complaints for a guest. The important thing is that the bride & groom were satisfied, and I think that they were.

Right before Sarah & Leo exited the church, everybody poured out of doors and milled around the steps. Blake was getting sleepy, and by the time they came out to showers of rice, he freaked out at the sudden cheer. Mo valiantly tried to solve this sudden problem by playing a mad game of peek-a-boo around my body, a gesture that Blake highly appreciated. My parents showed up shortly after we'd finished comforting him & smiling at the large tears tracking down his cheeks. Awwww...

When the baby was safely dispatched, the Boy & I drove off with Noizangel & Spherewalker for stew at their apartment, which would've been much better if I'd remembered to take my allergy pills. Nothing like sneezing & crying through a makeup job - if I'd been smart, I would've wiped it all off and started again, but no one ever accused me of being smart. In any case, the stew was delicious & the conversation better, and we were well-pleased to set off for the dancing with full bellies.

Living in Brampton with a small child & an early curfew has adjusted my social horizons; I was astounded to see so many people I knew in that room. And not just familiar faces, it was full of people who have helped me have a good time in the past and were ready to help me again. There was Noizangel dancing all night long and bringing the fun in. There were Neil, Laine & their infant, just in case I felt the pangs of empty arms. There was Jesse, for smoking and anecdoting (not that I smoked. I learned a few lessons from my last night at the Garden.) There was Dav's new bride, who complimented me on my dress and spent a few minutes in happy conversation before the two of us drifted away. There were other parents from the Alternative Parents group, whom I suddenly remembered from a party five years ago. There was Stacy, who stayed in the corners of my eyes most of the night. And of course there were the radiant bride & groom. For the first time in many years I felt more than just a late addition to the group; I felt like the Boy & I were important to the cast of characters. Maybe that's just my social insecurity coming out. I feel a little vulnerable lately (see above, re: Brampton) and it's east to be alienated.

I was just glad that for one night, I wasn't. Not even a little bit.

"Oooh, Sledgehammer! We can do actions!!!" - me, in the midst of the dancing

the boy schmoozes with orion

the bride & groom

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- Rocketbride's adventure of 10/21/2004 08:59:00 p.m.