Monday, October 31, 2005

Halloween Blues

Whoever thinks that Halloween is just for kids is mistaken. While I confess that I went through those awkward teen years where I outwardly pretended to be too "cool" for Halloween, inwardly I wished that I could be right beside Cinderella and Gumby, racing from house to house to fill my bag with the most candy.

Fortunately, motherhood has resurrected this ghoulish holiday. Once again, it's socially acceptable to squeal over costumes and sift past the dum-dums for the real goodies with each Trick-or-Treat. (I know most 10 month olds don't crave Nestle Signature Caramels, but mine's precocious.) Our family has had a blast getting into the spirit of Halloween this season as we've picked pumpkins, stuffed scarecrows, and feasted on Blue Brain Jello. Jason is sporting a box of Raisin Bran with a knife hanging out of it--what a serial killer! I am a black-eyed "P", and our more traditional Brooklyn periodically morphs between the most adorable duck, ladybug, and cow you've ever seen.

Despite our preparations, I suppose the final trick is on us. When I woke up this morning and saw the gorgeous weather, I thought that tonight's adventure would be quite a treat. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had the last word, because now it's wet, rainy, and cold. Unless you're a bathtub, trick or treating's just not much fun in the damp drizzle. Even worse, it's already pitch black outside at 4:53 pm, thanks to daylight savings. I guess the black goes with the Halloween theme, but coming home from work each night in the dark has me feeling blue.

Perhaps Halloween is simply cursed. I'm reminded of the time we had a huge blizzard on Halloween. Not only were all of the school parades canceled, but the mayor cancelled Halloween all together! The nerve. Talk about making yourself unpopular with those under the age of twelve. I guarantee you he would never have dared if we had had the power to vote. Or then there was the time we moved to Chicago on Halloween, only to discover that they had celebrated the day before. Oh, the horror! But rain or shine, trick or treat, I'll always love the day just as much as I did as a child.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Learning to Blog

Well, learning to blog is kind of like being potty trained. At first, entries are kind of messy and not very well contained. Other people have to come back in and clean up the disaster that an un-conscientious fellow like myself might leave. But, with time, I'll hopefully be able to control myself better and not just leave random little smears of thought where I ought not...

Mostly this is for Kara. I'm hoping she'll check her brand-new blog during the day today while she as at work and realize that somebody's very stinky diaper needs changing... :)

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Thoroughly Unmodern

Last night Jason and I went out to the show.

At first glance, that may not seem like such a monumental achivement. Yet for new parents still accustomed to quieting the howls of our darling daughter three times a night, it was truly a notable achievement. Orchestrating an evening out was quite a performance in and of itself--you should have seen Jason and I balancing bottles, blankets, binkies and breastmilk on the way to the babysitter.

My loving hubby had purchased a couple of tickets to a musical review called Thoroughly Modern Millie. In the show, Millie, a backwards Kansas farm girl, makes it big in New York City by leaving her family and turning thoroughly modern. While her 1920s bobbed hair and speakeasy escapades made for some great laughs, Jason and I both felt strangely empty as we snuggled together just the two of us. After ten months with hardly a moment to ourselves, we actually felt lonely and wished our little Buttermilk could be there with us. Maybe it's the adrenalin rush that comes from dodging drool, but life just isn't as exciting any more without her giggles to spice it up.

So while the rest of the world may be marching madly towards modern, I'm enjoying the slide backwards if backwards means closer to family. After the frenzied fun of New York and Washington DC, we're enjoying our cozy life in the cornfields of Savoy.

We were all too gleeful to gather our bundle of Brooklyn and tuck her in bed after our night out on the town. Unfortunately, a stuffy nose kept her awake and miserable all night, despite our feeble attempts to use the blue bulb syringe. By the time early morning finally came, I thought to myself, I'm ready for another show!