Room with a (pretty good, if distorted) view
Some days I've been able to do so much even with the baby like work a little, attend doctors visits, go grocery shopping, visit with friends, cook dinner and then still have energy to play with Wally or take him to a playground when he gets home from school. Then other days I'm thrilled if I bring the recycling down and change my shirt (I just wear t-shirts to bed now so it's less obvious when I don't). I like "baby-wearing" (though I don't like the name) for the most part and it has allowed me to get out and about easily from the first days but I haven't found any carriers that are really truly comfortable for long stretches of time. I guess there is something called the Moby (I actually have one someone gave me). But it's like 35-feet long and you have to wrap it around and around in the most outrageously complex way and then stuff the baby in there and hope it passes out quickly. I just do not have the patience for that especially with the sound of escalating screams in the foreground. The Ergo was great with the infant insert but now it's too hot for that. The sling I have works intermittently.
The only time I have done anything without the baby was on the first night back from the hospital when I had to run out to get a few groceries. Alex had a massive headache from a tooth infection. THAT NIGHT! Anyway, I felt as light as a feather dashing around that night even with the baby weight and the pain.
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You know that iconic New Yorker cover that's a map where New York City as disproportionately huge compared to the rest of the country?
The one that sort of illustrates the Steinbeck quote "The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else must be, in some sense, kidding."
This map Wally drew reminded me of that. But then all kids have that distorted view of their own world. And maybe we don't even really outgrow it, we just learn to be more discreet about our warped perspective.
Wally has enjoyed the view of The Empire State Building especially at night with its changing colors for quite a while now. But he seemed hurt when he found out it's not the tallest building in the world anymore - hasn't been for a while. It did have a pretty good 40-year reign, which must be longer than any other building's I would think. Now Wally's intent on visiting Dubai, entranced by the exotic sound of that distant tower Burj Khalifa. He'll have to extend his map. China somehow made it in there. And it turns out China has plans to go even higher than Dubai. A pretty ambitious idea, especially from the point of view of someone looking out the 10th-floor window facing East, wondering if I can get back outside before the hottest point of the day today, whether it's worth it or not to try to change out of the t-shirt I wore to bed last night, especially now that the baby's in the sling, nearly asleep.
The only time I have done anything without the baby was on the first night back from the hospital when I had to run out to get a few groceries. Alex had a massive headache from a tooth infection. THAT NIGHT! Anyway, I felt as light as a feather dashing around that night even with the baby weight and the pain.
*
You know that iconic New Yorker cover that's a map where New York City as disproportionately huge compared to the rest of the country?
The one that sort of illustrates the Steinbeck quote "The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else must be, in some sense, kidding."
This map Wally drew reminded me of that. But then all kids have that distorted view of their own world. And maybe we don't even really outgrow it, we just learn to be more discreet about our warped perspective.
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Wally has enjoyed the view of The Empire State Building especially at night with its changing colors for quite a while now. But he seemed hurt when he found out it's not the tallest building in the world anymore - hasn't been for a while. It did have a pretty good 40-year reign, which must be longer than any other building's I would think. Now Wally's intent on visiting Dubai, entranced by the exotic sound of that distant tower Burj Khalifa. He'll have to extend his map. China somehow made it in there. And it turns out China has plans to go even higher than Dubai. A pretty ambitious idea, especially from the point of view of someone looking out the 10th-floor window facing East, wondering if I can get back outside before the hottest point of the day today, whether it's worth it or not to try to change out of the t-shirt I wore to bed last night, especially now that the baby's in the sling, nearly asleep.
The world's tallest is in the definition of the beholder or some self-appointed authority's definition.
ReplyDeleteAnyway tallest can't top most iconic, and King Kong would never be climbing up the Sears (Willis), Petronas towers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/opinion/heights-of-fancy.html?ref=opinion&_r=0