In this parade they don’t throw beads II

I have written before about the Parade of Babies...I just found it in my old MySpace archives. It’s that terrible yearly feature in the local Washington paper where everyone who lives in town sends in pictures of their babies or people send in photos of their grandbabies from their kids who have wised up and gotten the hell out of there.

Hey look – it’s baby Joey – he’s sooooooo cute! Sure I’m biased because he’s my great nephew, but after snuggling with him this weekend, I’m totally gaga for this kid. He heats up like a piece of coal. Little known fact about me – at night I heat up like a furnace, which is shocking because during the day I’m always freezing. My body must think someone is going to steal the covers and I’m going to be left shivering so it heats up to protect me...there has to be some explanation. I got a sense of what it’s like the other night when Jonathan had a fever (strep throat...yikes...he’s better now) and it finally broke and it was like a zillion degrees in bed... interesting to be on the other side of it.

Little Joey is just full time furnace...he’s 23 pounds at 6 months old – he’s harboring a lot of caloric energy. I was holding his little face to mine and it was remarkably calming, especially since minutes before he had just thrown up and I had my arms outstretched saying “please watch the sweater, I have tickets to a show tonight.”

My dad kept scouring the parade of babies. Fred’s had another one he says. Eleanor Louise. Now there are Belle and Ellie I think - it's like he's starting his own faction of Disney Princesses. I just glanced at her but she didn’t appear to be all cherub-y like the last one, but I'm sure she's probably cute. Not sure why they think I need to be updated. Although it is a great feeling to just have it all be factual instead of emotional. It was a lifetime ago. And I am very happy in my here and now.

Then a few hours later it hits me. That’s my baby name. Who takes somebody’s baby name? Louise is his grandmother, but Eleanor that was mine. Well it was until I told my father of the idea and he said he wouldn’t name his ugliest horse Eleanor, which was the name of the wife of a man he couldn’t stand at work. Then just to prove his point, he named our next horse Eleanor. Still.

We’d come back in the living room and my dad would still be reading the paper. Finally Trisha says - dad are you a sperm donor or something? He says – well I did see a few that looked like me. I thought – they are babies – they are mostly bald and look like little old people – yes, I’m sure you’ve found a few that resemble you.

In real parade news, Mardi Gras is this weekend and I’m promising to be social. I know, I’m shocked too. I’m not anti-social as I’ve been accused, I just choose to spend my time with less then thousands of people at a time. I’m better in small groups...and I’m short so I can’t see over people. I appreciate stupid people for their people-watching value, but I have a low idiot tolerance, which also applies to drunks. And I don’t go to the bathroom outside or use Port-a-Potties – just don’t. That’s why I don’t really camp, go on float trips or work construction.

So mardi gras has never really been my thing. But since he’s in the neighborhood, I have an escape plan and can return to the apartment at any time. I like this approach – makes me much less claustrophobic about the whole thing. But don’t hold me to it if it’s going to be 34 degrees...i said I was going to be social, I haven’t entirely lost my mind.


Side note: Can someone explain to me the benefits of the variable speed limit on 270? I finally saw it change the other night – went down to 45 mph. Isn’t the point of a highway to keep moving? If I can go 60 shouldn’t I be encouraged to do so?