Child-rearing...revisited

After 25 years, I'm a "mother" again. No, I didn't keep this "immaculate conception" a secret from you all, I just am the lucky gran who gets to keep Mirai while Jenjer returns to work - for the first six weeks anyway. And believe me, it's not quite as easy as it was when I was 25 (when Chris was born) physically. Don't know why exactly - could it be the excess weight? The "being 50"? The bad back? The "being out of the work force" mentality? Having said that, it's like riding a bike - you may not go as fast as you used to, but you do never forget how to do it! And Miss Mirai has been a JOY! It's been good to have a baby in my arms again. I will have a rough time when I return to Katy in late September - I'll go around the house rocking my laundry, trying to change the diapers on my bears, wondering if I've left her in the car! I'll even be looking for the baby when I think I hear crying - it does come back to you so quickly once you get back into it. I will say that the "baby stuff" available today sure beats the pants off what we had (or could afford) back in the early '80s! There is more entertainment in one of those music gyms than we used to get on sitcoms in the '80s. While we had this huge cassette deck with speakers that also doubled up as end tables for music, they have wonderful docs for iPods that go on the crib railing! I do find it humorous that when we had babies, a good stereo system cost $2000-3000 and the baby cost $400. Now the stereo is about $400 but the baby costs $2000-3000! So, I guess it all is about the same except WE didn't have insurance to pay for the stereo.

I bought a "HotSling" so I can carry Mirai about. I was relieved to find out that a HotSling wasn't a surgical procedure for incontinence, mind you. And it was much cheaper as well. And it's GREAT fun to walk about in public with her and have people wonder, "Is that her granddaughter? Did she get 'caught' during 'the change'??" I'm so tempted to say I'm a surrogate for a poor couple who couldn't conceive and watch the expression on their face. But I must behave myself - well, to a certain extent.

One BIG advantage, I can tell everyone how hard it's been to lose my baby weight...which is true but who needs to know that was 25 years ago??