Pledge

Whatever Anthony Kiedis is taking… I wants me some!

Obama Day

Yesterday Obama was sworn in as president. Goodbye douchebag, hello man with a brain in his head! Melissa sent me a link last night, that people adjusted the signs for Bush Street in our neighborhood to Obama Street. Max is now teaching again, two classes a day, and on Tuesday and Thursdays he is gone from 7:30am-8:30pm. If there werent a baby in this scenario, it wouldnt mean much, but I am suddenly without all that wonderful help in the morning. And it does make a difference. When he kissed me goodbye, Noah and I were still asleep, as wake-up time isnt normally before 8:30-9am. We never watch tv with him in the living room, as he does like to watch the screen. But on this occasion, I decided to make an exception. Noah is the only person in this apartment who was born in the USA, and I feel it is our obligation to make sure that he become politically aware as soon as possible. I hope it will hold some weight, when I tell him one day that we watched this historical event together, that we stood when those in DC were asked to rise, and danced around the room together in our pj’s when Obama was sworn in. As the crowds cheered, so did we. It was a special little moment.

We went for our daily walk, and enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine. We have had very warm weather over the last week (in January!), and it’s been lovely pushing the stroller in the sun. At a red light, I peeked down and saw the top of his head moving from side to side. This curious little man was looking around at everything, taking it all in. He is quiet, but alert. And there is always someone who will comment on him and how cute he is, on these walks. The other day a French man walked by, and uttered something to Noah in a tone I can only call ‘cutesy’. I should have had the courage to ask him what he said, but he was with his while family…

Once back at the apartment, we were playing on the bed. I hold his hands and help him pull up into a sitting position. And now that he likes to stand, this will sometimes extend into a pull up to standing position. Normally he lifts up, makes eye contact and then smiles at me. He seems proud and also relieved that I am still there. It’s adorable. But yesterday, when I pulled him up into standing pose, he laughed!! A real giggle. I couldnt believe it. Just like that he’s a little more grown up. And his laugh is amazing. He scrunched his nose and his eyes, huge smile and then he belly laughs.

And this was all in just one day.

When do you ever see this?

Three fantastic films
Three leading ladies
All in the same month

At lunch with Ben

While eating the same sandwich at Craft…
Max: The only thing better would be ketchup
Ben: The only thing better would be eating this naked… in my apartment

Family traits

Me: That is just ridiculous! And that’s just not us!

Max: If you look up ‘Ridiculous’ in the dictionary, there is a picture of us holding hands.

Better living through leisure

Today I was treated to a whole day by myself. Max offered to watch Noah and take him on a ‘dude adventure’, so that I could have some time to myself. Initially I considered spending the day sleeping, but opted for a more active itinerary. I was lucky enough to have really good weather in the city, which was such a treat. It was cool and brisk, but the sun was shining and it was blue skies all day long. I went for a walk in the morning, making a stop at the Apple Store to look at the new mouse functions on the Macbook. I wanted to see the new Multi-Touch gestures trackpad. I am not a Mac girl, much to my friends’ chagrin, but I will admit that the new Macbooks are gorgeous and I was impressed by the new features. I then moseyed over to my acupuncturist for a maintenance treatment. The deep sleeps I have on the table are unmatched anywhere else. It is unbelievable. I snore and dream and am always disappointed when she comes back into the room to pull the needles out. From there I grabbed some lunch and talked to my brother on the phone. I bought some exotic chocolate for Max and headed over to the movies. I saw Revolutionary Road, which I thought was quite good. There were quite a few frames in the film which I believe would make exquisite large-scale photographs or paintings. Without creating a spoiler for anyone who may want to see it, I am pleased to say I feel my life is 360 degrees different from the life of the main characters. Although it does give food for thought about living in the suburbs. Which I have recently discovered is my new burning desire. As we have lived in apartments for the last 14 years, I cannot imagine having multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, washers, dryers and gardens. But these are all things I long now for. Who knew I would have such conventional desires…

After the movies, I walked over to the MOMA to see the current Art of Participation exhibition. To say I found it mediocre at best is the truth, but I may have had high expectations after reading the artist list ahead of time. There are many works in the show that require audience participation – something I include in projects of my own. For this reason, I was confused and saddened by the fact that I didn’t want to do so for the works in the exhibition. I didnt want to contribute to Lygia Clark’s rubberband floor weaving, I didnt want to speak into microphones. I didnt want to look at any of the various web art projects (which I’ve decided just do not work for me. Period) What does this mean? Clearly it’s problematic, but I just couldnt bring mseylf to do these actions. Maybe I needed to be at the exhibition with someone? All the works I loved, I have seen before: Abramović and Ulay’s doorway piece, Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece and a Joseph Beuys print that almost made me teary. After the museum closed, I walked past a sculpture that I love, and met Max and Noah for dinner at Samovar. Noah graduated today into his new carseat and stroller. When they walked up to the restaurant my heart swelled and it felt so good to have Noah back in my arms. Max had him dressed in green clothes and he looked truly adorable. Last stop was a peek in at an exhibition my friend Jessica is in. She moved to SF just before Noah was born and I havent been able to spend time with her yet. But I am hoping to rectify this now that Noah is a little bit older.

To say that I needed a day like today is and it isn’t true. On the one hand it was good to have some ‘me time’, but on the other I am not feeling deprived of this with my new life as mom. I read an article recently that discussed how unproductive it is to tell people you are tired and busy. It explained that we are all busy, and that by telling/whining to others that you’re so busy, is just a way of trying to create a hierarchy between yourself and others. As if your day-to-day is harder or more important than theirs. The author suggested that a more productive approach is to be grateful for the fullness in your life, and to say this instead. I have certainly fallen into the trap of complaining about my ‘busy’ life, especially when I was in graduate school. Since Noah’s arrival, I’ve made a concerted effort to avoid falling into the ‘busy’ trap when telling people how it’s going. So, yes – today was a real treat. And I am the luckiest lady in the world to have a husband who gave this gift to me, when I know he has a very large list of tasks to take care of. Particularly because if anyone should be complaining about how busy they are it’s Max, but he never approaches life that way. Instead he shows up to the restaurant, a big smile on his face, telling me how much they missed me, excited to hear about what I did with my day. He truly is the love of my life.

A whole new world

Noah recently passed the 3 month mark, and we now see a person emerging, where an infant used to be. We had read about the concept of the 4th trimester – that your baby should be considered as if still in the womb for the first 3 months. In my experience this has been fairly accurate. Which is not to say that this little guy hasn’t displayed signs of progress and individuality for quite some time now. I mean c’mon – he was born with a full head of hair! That had highlights! But all of a sudden he is trying to talk more, he stares more deeply at me, and generally seems to have more force and will to do things he wants his body to do. Like sitting and standing up. I wonder if this child will skip crawling altogether…

At this point, you may be rolling your eyes, fearful that this will become a baby blog. Just as some commented in the past that it was turning into a cat blog. I have been giving this thought, as Max and I write letters to Noah weekly, and that feels like a separate writing project. One which I thought would take care of me getting out the words I want to say about and to him. But it raises an interesting question: Who is this blog for? When it first began, more than five years ago, it was to keep my friends and family posted on my life, as I had just begun graduate school in a new city. Almost everyone important lived far away, and rather than type the same email or have the same phone conversation over and over, I decided this would kill many birds with one stone. From there it evolved and changed. I honestly cringe at some of the old posts when I read them now. But I leave things untouched, as I believe these thoughts and ideas came from a very honest place, and out of respect for that notion, I leave things as they are.

I recently found out that someone in Max’s extended family overseas had read my blog, and told people I was writing about inappropriate things, and topics that were boring and pointless to share (like the food he cooks and meals we eat). This blog is not hard to find – there is a direct link from my website. Anyone who wants to know about my life, simply has to google my name or click on that link for further information. And believe me when I say that as honest and informative as it is, there is PLENTY that does not get written about. As with any public diary, you only read what I want you to read. And for this reason, I say to that person, and anyone else who doesn’t like it: Don’t read it – no one’s forcing you. Mouse is on the right. Whore.

At the risk of being too tangential, I will bring it full circle and say this. I am now a mother. Even typing that feels truly bizarre and exhilarating all at the same time. And as this blog is about my life, undoubtedly the blog will be about motherhood, my amazing son and life as a family of three (or five if you count the cats). So, I hope you will join me for the ride, as life evolves into something new for me.