The other day, in what must have been a fit of sleep-deprived madness, I decided to do a few sit-ups whilst Baby D was having tummy time. Why not, I thought, I used to do this all the time when Kid A was a baby, during his floor-time. And my body is decidedly not recovering the way it did with Kid A, despite the fact that I’m having to run around much more since I also have a five year old to contend with now.
Baby D watched me for a moment, fascinated. Then he grinned. And then he laughed.
And laughed and laughed and laughed.
Everytime I did a crunch, he giggled. It was as though he knew what his giant babyness had done to my body and was thoroughly amused by my feeble efforts to fix it. “Yeah sure, Mom! Keep doing those crunches. I’m sure it’ll help!”
Seriously, I don’t know where he gets this sarcastic attitude.
It was a strange week overall. Both of my kids had check-ups…well Baby D did (and he continues to be huge. One more inch and we have to get a new carseat!) We also got the go-ahead to start on solids so we’ll probably do that this weekend. Kid A’s appointment thoroughly pissed me off, however. I made the appointment for a “check up” and said there were some things we wanted to discuss. The doctor weighed and measured Kid A, discussed our concerns and then made to leave. I asked about the rest of the check up and, apparently, that was it! Excuse me? It appears that, at least at this office, they don’t give kids check-ups of the kind I remember getting: height and weight yes, but also ears and eyes and tummy and getting hit in the knee with that little hammer. When I got home I did some investigating and it now seems that some doctors do check-ups as I remember and some doctors don’t. And so, I looked into getting a paediatrician – which in this little town means that you not only have to get a referral, your kid needs to start going there from birth, and has to have an actual problem to be followed AND there aren’t any in this town anyhow! So I’m not sure what we’ll do…perhaps start looking for a new doctor? I’m not excited by that prospect – as I have no car during the days the convenience of this doctor being a block away will be difficult to give up.
And then the power in our bedroom went out. Again. This happened back in the winter as well. That time, our power died for no apparent reason and then, after several weeks, our clock began to act possessed fading in and out, in and out…and then the power worked. I was suspicious, but we decided to let it go, except then it died again a few days ago. This time my husband tested everything, took out all of the outlets and then finally called in a pro. Said pro discovered that while the house is not exactly wired wrong it is wired kind of stupidly and the damaged wire is buried in our FLOORS. That wire has now been disconnected but a new line needs to be run through the attic – for nearly five hundred dollars. Husband is insisting he can do this himself. I’m nervous but friends of ours who know these things are saying it is possible. I really don’t understand how it can be so difficult to put a house together if that is what you do for a living. We’ve run into the stupidest screw-ups in our various homes (including a central vac that just cut off in one spot and continued elsewhere). Seriously? How difficult is this for some people? And if it really is so challenging, why not find some other line of work and leave this to the Mike Holmeses of the world?
Grrr. Okay, I think I have that off my chest but perhaps not since I’m now feeling snarly. I’ll talk about my manuscript, perhaps that will help. I did speak with the professional contact whom I was having trouble reaching and he stressed to me the importance of patience. I’m more than halfway through draft two and I’ve cut back my daily quota a bit since I’m starting to notice the signs of burnout, and that would ultimately result in my being even less productive. My writing group is going well and we’ve decided to continue into the fall, even though half of us will also be in the critique class. Fall will be an insane time – I’ll be in two writing sessions, Husband will still be in Aikido, Kid A will be in swimming and wants to start Aikido (and is also begging for gymnastics) and Baby D will start swimming. I have a feeling it’s going to be Christmas before I know it.
And hey, maybe by then, I’ll finally be through my drafts.
Fictional Impulse 