I'm sat in the new "nursery", which is in fact my office and full of baby stuff piled on the spare bed. I had intended to come in here , get my computer loaded up onto a hard drive and move my office to the basement, so I could start getting Danny's room ready. As you can tell, I'm blogging instead.It's been a weird week.
I went to Bowling Green, Kentucky for work. Driving for 12 hours was supposed to be my thinking time, to get my head sorted out on work stuff and such but it ended up being a typical road-trip of stops for coffee and snacks and flicking through the radio to find old songs like Bohemian Rhapsody that I could sing along to. I love Kentucky. Home of the Corvette Museum, bourbon, horse racing, Mammoth Caves and Dinosaur World. The hospitality is great. So great that even the restrooms have complimentary toiletries like ladies "sanitary items" and mouthwash, AND paper hand towels. Now I know paper hand towels are not eco-friendly but it's lovely to wipe your hands rather than hold them under a knackered old hot air contraption that doesn't remove any moisture. When I got back from my whirlwind trip I was supposed to babysit for Brian & Emily but completely forgot (sorry guys) so I'm also feeling a bit useless and uncoordinated this week.
Yesterday I got cornered by a woman in a shop that I thought was friendly but turned out to be as racist as Hitler and really upset me. I've felt sick since the whole episode and am still struggling with the realization that there's people in this world that hate immigrants and think the notion of white supremacy is acceptable. I'm so affected by it that I can't even write down what she said.
I had a good day today though, thankfully. Firstly, my doctor rang to tell me that I do NOT have gestational diabetes this time. Yea! So I don't have to check my blood several times a day by pricking my finger. And I can eat carbs. In celebration I had mashed spuds for dinner.
Then another good thing happened today: Five Iraqi refugee boys started at Jack's daycare this week. They are obviously out of sorts, they can't speak English and they are upset at the change in their lives. One of the toddler boys got very upset and didn't want to sit at the lunch table today with all the other kids, so he went into a corner and cried. My son went to him and patted him on the arm, repeating over and over "Hassan, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay" until the little boy calmed down and went and sat with them. My son is only two but he made me feel like the most proud parent on the planet. I must remember his act of kindness next time I want to strangle him.
Right, I'm going to get cracking on this room. This weekend is already packed full of activities (including the big game tomorrow) and I'm dying to start sorting out those baby clothes. There's something so nice about folding newborn clothes and pairing up those tiny socks ....
5 comments:
(oops...first time I was logged on as Brian)
Pam, PLEASE don't worry about the babysitting thing - it happens to the best of us. It was probably best anyway, we're still fighting off illness and all.
And that's a really sweet story about Jack - what a sweetie! He's got his mum's heart.
You know what people forget when they bang on about imigrants? I'm one. The look on people's faces when i remind them - and then they try to backpeddle or somehow exclude me from their tirade. Sickening indeed. AND most Americans can only trace their families back a hundred years and can tell you exactly when their ancestors immigrated.
Hey Emily, Good to see you yesterday & that you're all feeling good now. That boy of yours is CUTE.
EM: I have found that being English is generally accepted, have you? I even came across this when getting my green card. I felt I was treated very well, as if our history of partnership with the USA meant we were not really immigrants at all. There have been times though (for example, with my dog's vet) when a person has ranted about immigrants and then said "oh, you're one aren't you?". Maybe I should be brave enough to retort "yes, and you are too!"
Glad you were able to dodge the gestational diabetes bullet this time around it. I had it with Emmaline and it was definitely no picnic.
Jack sounds like a very kind-hearted little boy. Your story actually brought a tear to my eye.
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