Bound to Happen

Well, I have had my first official weepy crying moment the other day. Yes, the reality of what this whole "parenthood" thing is going to mean, really hit me (and Tom) at none other than the infamous BRU (Babies R Us). I knew our first blissful trip there last month was a fluke, because who else wanders the aisles of that store, gleefully playing with strollers and pack 'n' plays - besides naive and over-confident parents-to-be? That clearly was our warm-up trip, since we didn't exactly have to do any "real" work then, but browse the store to "see what our options were."

Our latest visit, on the other hand, had a clear purpose and goal: find items to add to a baby registry. But that meant actually knowing what we wanted and needed. Like which one of the 10 different baby monitors would have the best sound, least interference and wouldn't randomly stop working one day (as some of the online reviews had noted). And let’s not even begin talking about the Bottles section of the store! We ended up passing by entire aisles, because we had no idea if we even needed [or wanted] these items. We probably should have talked to more parents before undertaking this adventure, but in the end we did leave feeling accomplished with the choices we made - though slightly drained in the process. We decided that a few pints of our favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream later that evening would make everything (mostly) better, and reminded ourselves that when it really comes down to it, all a little newborn really needs at the beginning of life is food, shelter, clothing and lots of love. That, I think we can handle.

A (bizarre?funny?) pregnancy experience from the other day: I was walking to lunch, and coming the other way towards me were two guys, probably in their late 20’s or early 30’s. Just as I was passing them, one of them said nonchalantly, “So, how much for the baby?”, as he pointed to my obvious belly. My face must have looked completely shocked or dumbfounded, because they both just started cracking up as I walked by, very pleased with themselves and my response. I couldn’t believe it..was speechless! I mean, it was obviously meant to be humorous, and I really should have been quicker with a witty response, so as not to let them have the last word, but at that split-second moment, I just felt wrong and almost violated. Punks! Oh well, these experiences will continue to happen and if anything, maybe they’ll make me tougher in these last months of my pregnancy.

In lighter news, we had a wonderful July 4^th weekend, spent up in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, which is an area mostly consisting of temperate rainforests (ie. lots of ferns, greenery and moss and lichen hanging from trees). We stayed at Lake Quinault Lodge, a lovely and old-school hotel, originally built in the early 1920’s. FDR actually visited the lodge during his presidency (the restaurant is named the Roosevelt Room), and it was that visit which inspired him to push for the creation of Olympic National Park. We are glad he did, as it really is beautiful there. Unfortunately, we only skimmed the surface of seeing the forests in the national park but already know that we will be back again in the future. Photos from the trip are here.

Lastly, here is a photo of a sign we saw while driving back through horrendous traffic in Aberdeen, Washington. Wish we could all carry around a sign with a message like this, every once in a while.