Conversations this week:

"Don't take this the wrong way, but your breath smells bad."
"Are you pregnant?"
"Don't jump to conclusions. Maybe you just stink."

Lovely Saturday, even if my Sunday's been stressed & compressed. In the morning the family unit visited the church rummage sale in search of oddments. Specifically, I was looking for a dark blue shirt with nice material but a horrible cut so that I wouldn't feel bad about turning it into a bag liner. No luck with that, but we did find a nearly-new outfit for Blake that incorporates both red flannel plaid and a moose in a car. Can't ask for more, especially at 4 dollars.

At this point we headed downtown, the Boy chafing at the thought of being late for annual his hockey pool. As it turned out, we needn't have worried. (Not that I worried.) With the Boy safely dispatched to beer & post-gamer hockey stats fun, I took Blake to my happy-fun-place: a diner. We did the all-day breakfast thing, clearing the plates between us (which is nice, because it's always just a bit too much for me on my own.) When I set him down near a convenient outdoor couch to change his diaper, he pulled a disappearing act. One moment I was looking for wipes and the next I realized that my toddler had just disappeared next to a very busy downtown street. Confronted with the choice between an alley and the street, I picked the alley, where I found him 3 endless seconds later...looking down an 8-foot drop into a basement stairwell, his hands curled around the guard rail. "Jesus Christ!" I yelled, mostly in relief. After the diaper change he would return to this spot, me hot on his heels. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled joyfully as soon as his little hands touched the bars.

Cutting my losses, I went to Andrea's housewarming party as soon as I could get my gear into the car. I had intended to stay for a few hours, then go home for dinner. I was unprepared for the way that Blake's continual roving throughout the house would erode my ability to make predictions and decisions. We both had a grand time, and we hung in until past 9 p.m. By this time Blake was asleep on the master bed, having worn himself out in his travels. And although he went through two complete changes of clothes (including a pair of pants that he soaked not once but twice!), I can rest easy knowing that my little pantsless wonder charmed the hell out the ensemble. One of Marc's friends told me that he wanted Blake to be the entertainment at every party. Another confidently forecasted a long career in the Navy Seals. A third stroked his head as he read The Very Lonely Firefly to himself, lulling my monkey angel to sleep.

(I truly don't get enough time with him during the week. Two full afternoons of single-parenting showed me how much I miss when I come home like a cat in a sack, dragging myself through the evening, waiting to be put to bed.)

Getting back to the party, I think the main reason I stayed so long was because it was a great party. We’ve been to a lot of parties recently where people our age are talking about houses, investments, vacations and boring stuff like that; these people were more like my friends, which is to say, so interesting that I forgave them their comparative wealth. I was a little uncomfortable around the neighbours, who were all long-term residents of a posh urban neighbourhood, but then when I met one I realized that I didn’t need to be self-conscious because their neighbours are totally out of my league. Whom did I meet? Why, legendary Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin. (It’s ok if you don’t know who he is. Most people don’t. I think that’s why he gave me a hug when I told him that I loved him in “Whale Music.” Ah well, the Boy thought it was awesome). The funny thing about me is that as soon as I know I’ve irrevocably lost a game, I give up and forget the inequality. That’s why I can be friends with women who are exponentially hotter than myself; we’re not in the same range.

Today we went shopping for a Hallowe'en pattern. See if you can guess which one I want to make for this particular boy.

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- Rocketbride's adventure of 9/25/2005 07:41:00 p.m.