I walked into my office/Sadie’s bedroom this morning and saw something weird on the floor. It was light yellow-ish in color. Oh no!
Did I leave my computer on?
Did Sadie have another accident?
Did a UFO land in our backyard?*
And then I realized it was the sun. So weird. It’s gone now but I thought I’d tell you about it anyway.
And speaking of “sun”, looks like Bart and I are going to have one. A son, I mean. In July. (How’s that for a lead in?) Talk about weird. They let anyone have babies these days! Even people who have a combined 12 minutes of experience with babies. And 7 of those minutes were spent glaring at crying babies sitting next to us on airplanes. That counts, right? I mean, discipline is discipline.
Anyways, time to pick out paint colors. And read some books. And stop glaring at babies. Don’t be shy with your advice, Parents! Or even babysitters! National Lampoon’s Baby is counting on the village to help raise it!
* Maybe a UFO did land in my backyard one day in September. And maybe I got on board. And maybe they took me to their planet for a long, long time and that’s why I haven’t been here for a while. But then that makes this whole baby thing even weirder, huh? Okay, never mind.
Congratulations! I was just thinking of you this morning and was wondering if we hadn’t heard from you in a while was because you might have a bun in the oven.
Thank you, Melanie! But I can’t blame the bun. Or just the bun. Or maybe I can. Hey, I’m the mother! I get to do all sorts of unfair things now and just say, “Because I’m the mother, that’s why!” Maybe I do have an instinct after all.
Dear Shelly,
I am so happy for you and the Bart! First let me say that there is no greater joy than being a parent. If you do it right, it will push you to your physical, emotional, and mental limits, but there is no work more rewarding, and nothing sweeter than a child’s love. I am a person that hates other people’s little kids, but I adore my own children. It’s true what they say; it’s different when you have your own.
I know I don’t know you personally, but you reveal a lot of yourself in your writing, and I have read everything but your plays. From your words, I truly believe that you will be a wonderful mother. You are insightful and analytical and your memories of your own childhood are so very vivid in your stories. I am confident that you will take those experiences and apply them in a meaningful way to your own parenting style. Most importantly, you will be a good mother because you want to. You will do Judy and Tom proud.
I have a ton of advice because (as you know) I am preachy. I could go on forever, but I think instead I will recommend Ann Landers 10 rules for raising children.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-08-28/features/9608280283_1_child-dear-ann-landers-parents
Hey Teach,
I’d love to say it’s the hormones but likely it’s just your really sweet message that is making me all teary eyed! Thank you! And the Ann Landers piece is priceless. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Shelly,
Congrats to you and Bart! That is great news. Very happy for the both of you. I won’t bore you with the endless bits of parenting advice, you two are smart and capable…you’ll figure it all out. I do want to stress one thing though…get as much sleep as you can now. Enjoy sleep. Late for work? You slept in. Nap at the desk…no worries, just stocking up on the fleeting joy that is Sleep. Seriously, you’ll look back and wonder how you slept 6-7 hours a night.
Much love and support from the Chicago-land area!
Mike
Ha! And here’s where I find all those “Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard” columns that Dragon magazine doesn’t carry any more. Which is why I cancelled my subscription.
Congratulations on the upcoming young’n and know that all you’ll be losing is sleep (while he’s a baby), free time (while he’s in elementary school), and your car (while he’s a teenager). If he were a girl (Well, first I’d have to stop calling her a he.) then you’d have to add massive amounts of hair loss and the cost of a shotgun for greeting crackheads who think they’re going to date your daughter.
This is why we have seven grandkids…so I can laugh at our daughters when they phone and complain their kids do the same things that they (the aforementioned daughters) did. I strongly recommend starting with grandchildren.
And will we be seeing more rolegame related columns in the future? Pleeeeeeease? There are other games besides D & D, y’know.
*jeep! & God Bless
—-Grandpa Chet
Hey Grandpa Chet! I’m about to reply to your email!
You know, I was absolutely convinced we were having a girl. It’s all I could picture. So when I heard boy it was total shell shock. Took about a day to get used to the idea and remember that I was a girl– a teenage girl to be specific– and then I felt this overwhelming sense of relief. If I could have started with grandkids, I would have but I can’t quite figure out how to do that. 🙂
Oh yes, sorry about Confessions! It had been 5 years and I needed a break. I might be back with something else in the future. You never know.
Woop woop! Huge congrats to you both, that’s wonderful news! July babies are the best (my daughter is a July baby :)) I bet Judy is thrilled…and no doubt sending you vast amounts of parenting books from Amazon! I hope the pregnancy has been going well. Horde your sleep now – you’re going to need it! Everyone will tell you being a mum is the most wonderful magical thing. When I was pregnant everyone made out like it was an incredible life affirming thing and my baby would poop rainbows or something. So very very wrong! It’s hard work, hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and emotionally draining, but it is so very very worth it. Lucy is almost 2 now, and every day I’m so proud of her. I’m also pretty angry with her but that’s largely because she has inherited my stubbornness and her father’s lack of fear which means she doesn’t care that climbing up onto the dining room table and leaping off could hurt her, she just sees that it makes mummy go very red in the face and shout lots, which is apparently funny. How is Zelda going to cope when she’s not the centre of attention I wonder?! Anyways I’ve rambled on waaaay too long here, major congrats and I hope all goes well x
Dear Shelly,
I also recommend the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” series. People don’t agree with everything it says, but there are things I read in the series that people forget to tell you, some of which you won’t hear anywhere else. The books are good for each stage of pregnancy and after the baby is born. Judy probably already bought it for you. Read it.
Also, in order to help curb Zelda’s ire, I recommend you also dress her up in bonnets and other cute baby clothes and that you take pictures and upload them here.