A couple of weeks ago, I found out that an old high school friend, Celina, was pregnant. Eight weeks to be exact. Which was weird, because when I ran into her at the Gwen Stefani concert, she was downing rum and coke like there was no tomorrow. Guess she didn’t know then, either. But once she did know, Celina’s life changed. She had just turned 21 and realized that she could no longer indulge in twenty-something activities, like going out to a club, ordering a drink and have an adventure that would most certainly qualify her as a cool grandparent. Instead, she would have to spend her first legal drinking year at home, listening to friend and family members alike, recount their wild weekends. And even after she had the baby, she couldnt go out for another two, three years! Talk about a major downer.
But as I soon discovered, I was kinda floating around in the same boat.
With Lucy, my life changed. I found myself putting her needs before mine, just like a parent would do for their own flesh and blood. I was canceling happy hours and outings with my friends just to come home and be with Lucy. I was even discussing different types of dog food and her bowel movements. I didn’t realize I was putting a major damper on my social life until my friend Madelaine pointed it out. She had invited me to a wine tasting event and I had to decline because I needed to feed Lucy. Ok, I guess that was a bad excuse for not going out. After all, when I went to work, I left Lucy in the care of my brother, Collin. So it’s not like she would starve to death or be unsupervised. I was afraid I was becoming like one of those parents who could do nothing but only talk about their new babies and so when Madelaine invited me to dinner and a play, I decided to do something about it.
I made a few phone calls, switched some things around and accepted Madelaine’s invitation. Unfortunately, I took a little too long and Madelaine made other plans, giving me a free and lonely Saturday night. I had successfully (or would it be considered un-successfully?) transferred from the Parenthood Prairie to Loser Land. And it was during my brief stay in Loser Land that I discovered a horrifying fact: Lucy liked Collin, more than me. She followed him more, listened to him more, and even played tug-o-rope with him more. I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong. I thought I was doing everything a good parent should. I gave her the best food, the best toys, even the best in puppy couture! So why was Collin being favored over me? Was I being replaced?
Meanwhile, somewhere in San Diego, in La Jolla to be exact, three girls were having fun in a nightclub. My friend Hadassah went with her friend Sally to support their friend Ruby in a marathon to help fight lung cancer. Ruby had been practicing for over a year and now it was her time to shine, but like all shinning moments, it made Ruby nervous. So, Hadassah figured a wild and crazy night in a beach city like La Jolla would help out. And it did. For a while, until Sally got really drunk and started throwing up everywhere; the bar, the dance floor, the bathroom, the parking lot, everywhere.
The next morning, Hadassah discovered that not only was her entire party hung over from the party last night, but the alcohol seemed to put a damper on Sally’s mood for the rest of the weekend. She didn’t feel like participating in any of the activities they had planned. Instead of shopping or hanging out at the beach, all Sally wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep, bitching and moaning about everything: the sun, the people, the weather, everything.
Everyone figured that Sally’s sour mood was probably due to the drastic change in location, but when it followed her back home and stuck around during a “Welcome Back!” party, it was enough. One person in particular who had had enough, was Keely, who got into a verbal fight with Sally after hearing her bitch and moan about a “horrible, sucky weekend.” Then, out of nowhere, Keely threw a fast fist right into Sally’s face. The entire party was put on pause for a few moments, but regained its energy once the girl-on-girl fight was in full mode. It ended when Keely threw her body into Sally and broke her leg in a bizarre lower body twist, sending her not only to hysterics, but to the hospital. The fight, the sour mood, and other past problems with Sally led everyone to the same conclusion: she had to go. It was so third grade.
A couple days later, during a mid-Thursday afternoon (why is it everything happens to me, mid-Thursday afternoon?), Hadassah came by to the flower shop. She had just finished having lunch with her mother, when she decided to ask me if I wanted to go to the John Mayer concert next week. I accepted and asked how she came about an extra ticket. In a calm and rational voice, Hadassah explained that it was originally Sally’s ticket, but since she hadn’t paid for the ticket yet, and the fact that nobody was talking to her, it was up for grabs. I felt like I should take back my acceptance for the ticket. I didn’t wanna replace Sally. I didnt wanna do to her, what I thought Collin was doing to me. But then again, it is a John Mayer concert, a guy who Rolling Stone magazine recently named one this century’s rock guitar gods...
P.S. I know this is kinda old and all, but if you have any extra time or just wanna search through some blogs, check out my friend Mel's blog. She went to the Hollywood premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean and got to meet all kinds of world-famous celebrities. Totally blows my tale of Kathleen Turner right out of the water.
But as I soon discovered, I was kinda floating around in the same boat.
With Lucy, my life changed. I found myself putting her needs before mine, just like a parent would do for their own flesh and blood. I was canceling happy hours and outings with my friends just to come home and be with Lucy. I was even discussing different types of dog food and her bowel movements. I didn’t realize I was putting a major damper on my social life until my friend Madelaine pointed it out. She had invited me to a wine tasting event and I had to decline because I needed to feed Lucy. Ok, I guess that was a bad excuse for not going out. After all, when I went to work, I left Lucy in the care of my brother, Collin. So it’s not like she would starve to death or be unsupervised. I was afraid I was becoming like one of those parents who could do nothing but only talk about their new babies and so when Madelaine invited me to dinner and a play, I decided to do something about it.
I made a few phone calls, switched some things around and accepted Madelaine’s invitation. Unfortunately, I took a little too long and Madelaine made other plans, giving me a free and lonely Saturday night. I had successfully (or would it be considered un-successfully?) transferred from the Parenthood Prairie to Loser Land. And it was during my brief stay in Loser Land that I discovered a horrifying fact: Lucy liked Collin, more than me. She followed him more, listened to him more, and even played tug-o-rope with him more. I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong. I thought I was doing everything a good parent should. I gave her the best food, the best toys, even the best in puppy couture! So why was Collin being favored over me? Was I being replaced?
Meanwhile, somewhere in San Diego, in La Jolla to be exact, three girls were having fun in a nightclub. My friend Hadassah went with her friend Sally to support their friend Ruby in a marathon to help fight lung cancer. Ruby had been practicing for over a year and now it was her time to shine, but like all shinning moments, it made Ruby nervous. So, Hadassah figured a wild and crazy night in a beach city like La Jolla would help out. And it did. For a while, until Sally got really drunk and started throwing up everywhere; the bar, the dance floor, the bathroom, the parking lot, everywhere.
The next morning, Hadassah discovered that not only was her entire party hung over from the party last night, but the alcohol seemed to put a damper on Sally’s mood for the rest of the weekend. She didn’t feel like participating in any of the activities they had planned. Instead of shopping or hanging out at the beach, all Sally wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep, bitching and moaning about everything: the sun, the people, the weather, everything.
Everyone figured that Sally’s sour mood was probably due to the drastic change in location, but when it followed her back home and stuck around during a “Welcome Back!” party, it was enough. One person in particular who had had enough, was Keely, who got into a verbal fight with Sally after hearing her bitch and moan about a “horrible, sucky weekend.” Then, out of nowhere, Keely threw a fast fist right into Sally’s face. The entire party was put on pause for a few moments, but regained its energy once the girl-on-girl fight was in full mode. It ended when Keely threw her body into Sally and broke her leg in a bizarre lower body twist, sending her not only to hysterics, but to the hospital. The fight, the sour mood, and other past problems with Sally led everyone to the same conclusion: she had to go. It was so third grade.
A couple days later, during a mid-Thursday afternoon (why is it everything happens to me, mid-Thursday afternoon?), Hadassah came by to the flower shop. She had just finished having lunch with her mother, when she decided to ask me if I wanted to go to the John Mayer concert next week. I accepted and asked how she came about an extra ticket. In a calm and rational voice, Hadassah explained that it was originally Sally’s ticket, but since she hadn’t paid for the ticket yet, and the fact that nobody was talking to her, it was up for grabs. I felt like I should take back my acceptance for the ticket. I didn’t wanna replace Sally. I didnt wanna do to her, what I thought Collin was doing to me. But then again, it is a John Mayer concert, a guy who Rolling Stone magazine recently named one this century’s rock guitar gods...
P.S. I know this is kinda old and all, but if you have any extra time or just wanna search through some blogs, check out my friend Mel's blog. She went to the Hollywood premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean and got to meet all kinds of world-famous celebrities. Totally blows my tale of Kathleen Turner right out of the water.
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