Rainy Friday

Went to the post office this morning. Funny to watch Bella circle and circle around the room, fascinated by everything. I gave her Dom’s Netflix envelope to drop in the slot. Oh what joy! Sophie sits on the counter next to me and observes from her own vantage. The lady behind the counter is starting to know us. Knows that the packages are Media Mail unless First Class is cheaper, knows I don’t want insurance or delivery confirmation. She asks quickly to make sure, but frames the question in the negative, assuming my usual answer. It’s nice to be known.

Went to the library next. The six weeks story time session is over, but library on Friday morning is now a habit. Books were due today, so why not. The librarians all know the girls by name and greet me with warm smiles. A gaggle of teens had taken over a table. School project? The children’s librarian kept calling to them with admonitions: The soda goes outside. Don’t sit on the table. Keep it down. Move back to the young adult section, please. This area is for little children.  She knew them by name, too. A nice small-town touch.

After we’d been there a bit another mom I’ve chatted with at previous story times came in. Two girls: her oldest is about Bella’s age. Her younger daughter is maybe four or five months younger than Sophie. I know the girls’ names but haven’t introduced myself by name to mom. She’s got nice face, though, and we’ve had some pleasant chats. Something about her attracts me. I like her laid-back casual style, maybe. The way she talks to her children and mine. Hers is the girl Bella seemed to hit it off with the first time they met, running and jumping and laughing. A pleasant surprise to meet them again.

I told the children’s librarian about Bella playing story time. She laughed. Later, when she was checking me out, she told me she’d been laid off. So who knows if there will be another story time. I told her I was so sorry to hear that. Didn’t know what else to say. As usual, I don’t know her name.

It was pouring still when we were done at the library. I might have stayed longer but Sophie’s diaper was in great need of attention and then library bathroom floor didn’t seem like a great option for this hugely pregnant mama. I did it on the front seat of the minivan, rain falling on poor Sophie.

I wasn’t ready to go home yet. Unusual for this home body; but there you go. Impulsively I decided to get in the car and drive. Quickly I found myself on the way to my sister’s store, about 20 minutes away. A nice surprise for her, a drink and snack for me and the girls. Sophie had just fallen asleep when we pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. Fortunately, she woke easily and not too cranky. Seeing her favorite auntie probably didn’t hurt. My sister was fortuitously about to go on her 30 minute break. She got us some drinks and then sat down with us. Milk for the girls, a decaf iced mocha something or other for me. A ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate cookie.

It was nice to be a happy surprise. She’s been begging me to come since she started and this is the first time I’ve done so. (Well, except the time Dom and I stopped in with the girls on the way home one day.)

Both girls were still hungry when we got home. Had to feed them a second lunch. Then a late nap. I think Bella was having a hard time going down because she could hear the neighbor kids playing ball outside on the street. I had to go in four times to tell her to stop kicking the wall. Ah well. Sophie, however went down without too much fight. The short nod in the car earlier was too short to hurt. And I’d dosed her with Benadryl too because her eye has been red and oozy again. Definitely allergic and not an infection, though. The skin under the eye is red like she’s rubbing it with something that’s irritating the skin. Also, it went away last night after I dosed her and came back after she’d been awake a couple of hours. Wish I knew what the irritant is.