September 21, 2005

Why does growing old have to suck?

Here’s hoping the Freeloader takes after his daddy: While I have dodged the Stretch Mark Bullet thus far, I am now the proud owner of an angry red slash from my IRON. Yep, I was merrily ironing away yesterday and my big ole baby belly GOT IN THE WAY.

Darwin be damned: Maybe our kid is screwed after all. X actually asked me late last night if I thought the kid was going to be born in the 1st two weeks of October or not (my due date is 10/15). I have tried to explain to him that a due date is merely an estimate. For all the baby stories I can give him of kids coming early, I can provide an equal amount of anecdotes proving that kids come LATE, too. Granted, I can’t blame X. Right now, he is under more than one gun -- his company has Something Really Good going on that may morph into Something Really Great - the very future of his company (and our livelihood) depends on this Something Really Great. Since X is the CEO of said company, it is slightly imperative that he be in Reston, VA in person as the company is actually headquartered THERE and not HERE where my pregnant ass is physically located. However, I have a strict policy that requires the father of my children be present for their births, so it is equally imperative that he be in town when I go into labor. And no, I am not mad. I can’t help but laugh when X asks these ridiculous questions regarding the potential birth date of our child - like I am keeping it a secret from him or something.

Even the Westin would suck if you were held captive: Growing old bites. My 84-year-old Great Aunt P is finding this out herself. Frankly, she can’t live by herself anymore. She frequently falls, doesn’t cook correctly for herself and just can’t make rational decisions. She got so weak and sick that she was admitted to the hospital last month and went to a nursing home for rehab. She is doing AWESOME now and of course, wants to go home. However, the nursing home she is in totally KICKS ASS (I have stayed in FAR WORSE hotels). Seriously, the place is really, really nice and even Aunt P admits this. In fact, the place has a waiting list a mile long, but my Aunt P got in because she has connections. I should also mention that members of my family don’t just go to nursing homes to waste away. In my family, you are guaranteed at least 1-2 visitors daily since we have the sheer numbers to keep the visitors log filled quite nicely. Anyway, she wants to go home and I certainly can’t blame her. It’s a very distressing situation with no real solution - all complicated by the fact that Great Aunt P is a sister-in-law of my grandma’s, her only son is tragically died a few years back and WE ARE IT for her. However, when you aren’t a blood relative, you can’t make decisions - regardless of how much you love that person. While Aunt P is accepting of a shorter life span if she gets to live it out in her home, it’s worrying my 82-year-old Normal Olathe Grandma into an early grave. At least Aunt P has a fabulous sense of humor - when I went to see her yesterday, she was proudly wearing her “Exercise Smells and Life is a Terminal Illness Anyway” t-shirt. I am not sure what the solution is, but it makes me wish desperately for a society where old folks are allowed to age gracefully and with dignity.

Rancid Review: I watched How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:30pm CDT Mondays) last night. VERY GOOD. It’s a story told backward, of sorts. It’s presented as if a father is telling his children the story of how he met their mother. The casting is great with Neil Patrick Harris as sort of a showcase, I never watched Doogie Howser, but did become a Harris fan when I watched one of his other sitcoms (the underappreciated Stark Raving Mad). In short, Harris takes the cake. If the storylines and the wittywriting keep up to par, this may be Harris’ starring vehicle. Alyson Hannigan (from “Buffy”) was also a great casting choice. If you missed last night’s episode, you can easily pick this show up next Monday. As with typical sitcoms, missing an episode or two won’t throw you completely off track. Finally, I was VERY impressed with the clever little twist thrown in at the very end of the episode. I am definitely looking forward to next week’s episode soI give it 4 out of 5 Rancid Sheep.

I also watched Out of Practice (CBS, 8:30pm CDT Mondays) last night. Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler play two doctors who are divorced with three adult children. One of the running gags, is that 2 of the adult children are actual doctors and the 3rd child is psychotherapist or something. It was pretty fun watching and I will watch it again. I am not sure yet if this will last the whole season on my DVR, so I may update this review. For now, it gets 3 out of 5 Rancid Sheep. Frankly, I am so desperate for an old-fashioned sitcom, I have been getting my hopes up pretty high this season. So far, I haven't been disappointed!

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