that being a parent is basically the equal of working two full time jobs. I spent one day in Madison with Karen and Nef, my friends who have two kids, 4 and 2 years old. 24 hours with those guys and I have a whole new appreciation for parents or anyone who raises kids.
I got there around 1 and about an hour after I arrived, Nef and I were sent by Karen to do some Christmas tree shopping. And we took Emma and Sophia with us. So we had to get them in the car seats, then fight the traffic to all the stores. Once we pulled in the parking lot, we got out this double stroller from the trunk. So here we are in a very liberal city. Two guys in their mid-20's, pushing a stroller with two baby girls. Yeah, let's leave it there. We tried Bed, Bath, and Beyond and didn't find anything. But I was intrigued to see the "Code Adam sign" on the door. I guess they knew I was coming to town. I walked through the door and announced out loud "I'm here!" We went to Target and got a good tree. Then we stopped in the snack bar. So we had to handle this huge tree box, the food, and the stroller (which is meant for pavement and not linoleum floors. It's very difficult to control). Then fight the 30 degree weather and the wind chill. No wonder Nef was so tired!
After dinner at Karen's parents' house, we came back and Nef set up the projection DVD player in the basement. We were going to watch Scary Movie 4, but I combed through his DVD's and found the 1986 New York Mets DVD collection! My eyes bulged, that was all I needed to see. We watched the 16 inning classic from the NLCS Game 6 against Houston. And it was really interesting watching a game from just 20 years ago. No ballpark music, no advertisements in the park, no ridiculous graphics on the tv broadcast, no focus on the players' wives, thank God. It was so pastoral and I honestly would not mind seeing baseball return to a simpler presentation.
Boy, Emma is full of energy. Full of energy as in waking me up at 6:45 Saturday morning! She's sweet, but she just doesn't settle down. From what I know, a kid's personality is basically formed at a very young age. If this is any indication, Emma will not exactly be an introvert.
In the morning, Nef had a work meeting to go to so Karen and I took the girls to a show at the downtown Overture Center. It was a folk music show for little kids. We sang "Oh Susannah", "Turkey and the Straw", and all those types of songs. A little fiddle at 10 am is just a good start to a day. It was fun and I have to admit I was a little surprised I remembered so many of those songs. I told Karen I hope no one recognizes her because they might get suspicious!
And mini golf was great. Nef and I played at this indoor place where each hole is a landmark of Madison. Government buildings, breweries, lakes, stadiums, it was really cool. He got two holes-in-one to my zero, but I definitely played more consistently.
I definitely see how having a family changes a person's priorities and what they consider important. Free time goes away, but the things you do with them every day make those days seem more meaningful. Well, now it's back to work at the paper. I guess some old habits die hard.
Song pick: "Lover's Cross" Jim Croce. This seems to illustrate how I'm feeling.
PS: Thing #51 to be thankful for: Pumpkin cheesecake at the Weber Grille. So good it was sinful.
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