This past weekend, we were up in Maine at the family house for my baby sister’s wedding. Naturally, there was a lot of fun and revelry to be had….on everyone’s part, but the parents of an almost 4-month old baby. We are deep in what I’ve heard referred to as the “baby cave” right now—the little bubble that one lives in when they have a baby(ies) at home. Life is not the same for that span of time—normal, adult sleep/wake schedules are disturbed, it takes an hour to get everyone packed up with clean clothes and clean bums and all the gear they require, nights out are replaced with (many) nights in, it’s ridiculously difficult to travel, and you are constantly preoccupied with and discussing things like poop, nap routines, the amazing thing your child did that day, parenting philosophies, etc etc.
It’s difficult for others to understand “the cave,” because life keeps on moving for those outside of it. And so, on Friday night, I watched as my sisters put on pretty dresses and makeup, as I put on pajamas and super absorbent breast pads. They went out to meet all the wedding guests at a local bar and enjoyed adult beverages and adult conversation, as Alex and I climbed into twin beds next to each other, and had a conversation via Facebook chat so as not to wake the baby slumbering by my side. As we typed back and forth, I thought “wow, this is quite the snapshot of parenthood.”
Here’s our (somewhat abbreviated) IM convo (which makes a lot more sense if you’re familiar with Dr. Seuss’s Fox in Socks):
I’m really tired though, I was thinking about passing out
I’m usually asleep by now, but I’m all wired from the action of the day
I really need some sleep though
I do feel bummed to be in bed while everyone else is out having fun.
Haha, true, felt like a loser there for a second
and to dance in a bar to loud music
Yeah, sounds nice about now
Shhhhhh! You’re making so much noise over there!
She’s going back to sleep
It’s hard to type with one hand
and it’s my non-dominant hand
It’s hard to do a lot of things with one hand, but we’re learning (since
one hand is always holding the baby)
It feels like a vacation when I have the use of both my hands
Wow, the speed of your typing makes me feel like I’m communicating with a paraplegic
It’s this little barnacle on my nipple
Slowing me down
Would you trade places with Em if you could?
7:50pm Alex says: Alex says:
Probably not, cause she’s a chick and I like being a dude
Lying next to me with my boob in your mouth all night
Well… she does have it pretty nice there
Then again she can’t walk, talk, ride a bike, eat food
or pretty much any of the other pleasures of being human
Well yes, you do have a lot of great skills
Her future prospects are good though
You can also pee in a toilet
depends on who you talk to about that…
I do end up cleaning up just as much of your pee as I do Em’s
Em and I have talks about daddy’s pee every morning right before I sit on it
Was that a directive: go sit on your pee?
No, it was the end of the previous convo
I will not eat my poop here or there
Would you, could you in an outhouse?
I would not, could not in an outhouse
The rhythm of it will come to me at entirely inappropriate moments
I seriously could get lost in that book, like the people who get lost in an acid trip and never get out.
I mean what the fuck is that Fox talking about????
Why the hell are they building stacks of random crap?
Things get really messed up for me when Fox starts sewing hoses and roses on some old crow’s body. I mean what the hell is that about? Who would think to do something like that?
And who the hell is this Mr. Knox guy?
I think he’s connected with the mafia or something
I mean the way he plays dumb the whole time, then shoves the guy in a bottle!
Yah, there is something really fishy about that
And why doesn’t anyone have any fingers?
Just a thumb and a mitten-like appendage
What kind of animal wears a tunic?
And good luck guessing the gender
The Fox in Socks is ironically the only one who makes any sense
Really. I like that Fox is at least identified as a fox
Also, how can bricks get sick? I’m really disturbed by a whole mess of bricks lying in bed, crying because they are sick
They don’t cry, they “tock”
There is something really existential about that
I could definitely write a research paper on this.
So we can at least be clear about that.
But, he’s wearing a full length tunic so it’s a bit confusing
Hmmm.. that’s true, unless he’s a hermaphrodite
Maybe that’s what he’s trying to cover up with that frumpy tunic
Perhaps it’s a transsexual who would rather be identified as Mr.
or even more terrifying, the Fox is just mocking her for looking mannish
or wearing that stupid ass tunic
Well, the fox is running around naked wearing only socks, so he really shouldn’t talk
Wake up wearing nothing but four socks
in a classroom of your peers
It’s amazing Knox takes so much crap from him
Also, I’m uncomfortable with the explosive rage on Knox’s part in the end. I mean dude just loses his shit and shoves that fox into a bottle with a bunch of battling beetles
and this is in front of children?
She always moans when the beetles come on the page!
She gets upset every time they roll around
They have really mean faces, maybe that’s it
She doesn’t care for their attitudes
that kids get their violent tendencies from the stuff they read and watch
Something like 70% of the stuff that’s out there,
including classics like Grimm’s Fairy Tales,
has someone harassing or injuring someone else
and in like 95% of them, the harassing party doesn’t apologize or make nice
I believe it. Fox in Socks is kind of a dick.
Maybe we should rip out the last few pages, all the ones with the battling beetles and the bottle shoving
At least in this one Knox gets revenge
Knox tells him again and again that he can’t play this game and that it’s upsetting him and that he wants to stop and Fox keeps on and keeps on-
won’t leave the guy alone
That’s why I say that Fox gets what he deserves in the end
But it’s still not a great message
But, it’s no wonder our kids start harassing and kicking the crap out of each other
They include one like from Sponge Bob square pants
I’ll butcher it but…. Sponge bob says to his friend “How can you go on living knowing you’re a complete moron”
And the others watching just laugh and cheer him on
I would never let Em watch Sponge Bob.
It’s 8:08. I’m up way past my bedtime.
That is absolutelt hilarious i love that you guys talk by computer. I’m never reading fox in sox again.
Love,
Taylor
hilareous. I have to say- I am NOT a Dr.Seuss fan- we dont own any of his books- can’t handle all the rhymes