Discovering Aisle 10
Day 5 - Today was a terrifying ... but rewarding day. I set off on a major expedition - one I hadn't prepared for in years - I think the last one I had completed was just after college in the Cook range in New Zealand's South Island. Well, today my map was the shopping list in my pocket, and the little black granny shopping basket was the equivalent of my pack. And I had 17 aisles worth of Super Safeway to keep me busy in my quest for tonight's ingredients that I would use to cook us a meal.
Tonight was my night. My mother and father-in-law had brought us food for the past 2 days, and had given us enough for a week's supply of ready-made Chinese meals. My sister-in-law had made a curry sauce. My wife wanted curried chicken. I had to cook the chicken, and the potatoes. So off I went to Safeway.
I secured the meal ingredients - no problem. And then, I looked at the bottom of the list: diapers. I located the special aisle I had never even seen, let alone traveled down ... aisle 10 ... for the baby diapers - slight problem. There was an entire aisle - 75 feet worth - of diapers. Huggies, Pampers, Safeway, Seventh Generation recyclables .... oh my god was I overwhelmed. Finally, after about 5 minutes of panicked searching for the smallest ones I could find, I realized the simple trick - they're all numbered. 1's are the smallest for newborns, then 2's, 3's and 4's, which looked like they could swaddle a horse.
The strange thing about having a baby is that suddenly your perspective changes completely. Everything to a newborn dad suddenly shrinks down to micro sizes. Mini diapers, 2-inch long socks, 3-inch wide hats, 18-inch long clothes. So when I was given extra diapers from my sister-in-law for an 8-14lb baby, my jaw dropped. I pulled one out of the plastic bag and held it up against Lian - it reached from her foot to her armpit. I opened it up and then put it between my legs - it almost fit. It was a Huggies - with the built in stretch potential in one of those, I'm sure it could.
So back to the shopping adventure. Diapers - not that bad a problem after I figured out the system. Good thing was, no one was looking as I figured it out. Then back home. Dinner - slight problem. Now, you see, I haven't cooked in a while. I'm a fantastic leftover chef - and can make any lunch into a dinner with a flick of the wrist, but starting from scratch ... that's a different problem. But Michelle was categorical with me today: "sweetie, I'm exhausted and I need some TLC today." I was on my own.
Lian had just fed, it was 7pm, and she and mom were feeding in the bedroom down the hall. I was slaving away on the stove, boiling chicken and potatoes, listening to NPR, and then, I heard it....this strange sound - the sound of a small engine, a sucking noise ... a vacuum cleaner. I looked around, opened the outside door and looked around: nothing. And then, I realized where it was coming from: the baby monitor on the kitchen table which was on all day and I just hadn't seen it. It's that vacuum cleaner CD we bought to put the baby to sleep! Yes, Michelle had started it up, in an effort to get Lian to fall asleep.
Back to cooking. Success. Finally. And as I'm putting the finishing touches on the curry, I hear another strange noise. I walked over to the baby monitor again and bend down to get a better listen. It's repetitive, somewhat loud since I can hear it over the noise of the vacuum cleaner, but it stops and starts.
Then, I finally realize what it is. It's become so familiar to me that it's been drummed into my head almost every night of the past 7 1/2 years. Michelle's snores. Dear God, I pray that Lian doesn't take on after her mother, otherwise I'm toast.
Tonight was my night. My mother and father-in-law had brought us food for the past 2 days, and had given us enough for a week's supply of ready-made Chinese meals. My sister-in-law had made a curry sauce. My wife wanted curried chicken. I had to cook the chicken, and the potatoes. So off I went to Safeway.
I secured the meal ingredients - no problem. And then, I looked at the bottom of the list: diapers. I located the special aisle I had never even seen, let alone traveled down ... aisle 10 ... for the baby diapers - slight problem. There was an entire aisle - 75 feet worth - of diapers. Huggies, Pampers, Safeway, Seventh Generation recyclables .... oh my god was I overwhelmed. Finally, after about 5 minutes of panicked searching for the smallest ones I could find, I realized the simple trick - they're all numbered. 1's are the smallest for newborns, then 2's, 3's and 4's, which looked like they could swaddle a horse.
The strange thing about having a baby is that suddenly your perspective changes completely. Everything to a newborn dad suddenly shrinks down to micro sizes. Mini diapers, 2-inch long socks, 3-inch wide hats, 18-inch long clothes. So when I was given extra diapers from my sister-in-law for an 8-14lb baby, my jaw dropped. I pulled one out of the plastic bag and held it up against Lian - it reached from her foot to her armpit. I opened it up and then put it between my legs - it almost fit. It was a Huggies - with the built in stretch potential in one of those, I'm sure it could.
So back to the shopping adventure. Diapers - not that bad a problem after I figured out the system. Good thing was, no one was looking as I figured it out. Then back home. Dinner - slight problem. Now, you see, I haven't cooked in a while. I'm a fantastic leftover chef - and can make any lunch into a dinner with a flick of the wrist, but starting from scratch ... that's a different problem. But Michelle was categorical with me today: "sweetie, I'm exhausted and I need some TLC today." I was on my own.
Lian had just fed, it was 7pm, and she and mom were feeding in the bedroom down the hall. I was slaving away on the stove, boiling chicken and potatoes, listening to NPR, and then, I heard it....this strange sound - the sound of a small engine, a sucking noise ... a vacuum cleaner. I looked around, opened the outside door and looked around: nothing. And then, I realized where it was coming from: the baby monitor on the kitchen table which was on all day and I just hadn't seen it. It's that vacuum cleaner CD we bought to put the baby to sleep! Yes, Michelle had started it up, in an effort to get Lian to fall asleep.
Back to cooking. Success. Finally. And as I'm putting the finishing touches on the curry, I hear another strange noise. I walked over to the baby monitor again and bend down to get a better listen. It's repetitive, somewhat loud since I can hear it over the noise of the vacuum cleaner, but it stops and starts.
Then, I finally realize what it is. It's become so familiar to me that it's been drummed into my head almost every night of the past 7 1/2 years. Michelle's snores. Dear God, I pray that Lian doesn't take on after her mother, otherwise I'm toast.
posted by Note Buyer at 11:26 PM
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