So we did not go to the opening of the outdoor Farmer's Market by bus as I had intended; instead, we took the car with a plan to pick Keven up when his bus from Minneapolis returned to campus. The market was not what I experienced in the fall, with all of its abundant vegetables and fruits, because - duh - it is only April. Plants are hardly in the ground, let alone ready for harvest. Nevertheless, we still managed to find cheese, jam, a basil plant, and a few pastries. Katka met us there, and the four of us traveled the Square for about an hour.
After parting from Katka, the girls and I walked the short little block to the Central branch of the Madison Public Library. We had never been there before, so that made two new libraries in one week. We will return to the Central branch repeatedly this summer because it is on several bus lines, we'll be downtown anyway for the farmer's market every Saturday, and it has a wonderful children's section. The children's section is separate from the rest of the library with its own entrance, so I find it much easier to keep track of the girls. If I take up residence close to that entrance, perhaps reading my book, they can be free to roam around and play as they wish. The area has its own kids' size bathrooms, dozens of types of toys (puzzles, coloring, blocks, trains, puppets), and a very extensive collection of materials. I am happy with our discovery.
Turns out we could have taken the bus anyway because Keven did not return until much later than we planned. I took the girls home, rested them (no naps), and the four of us prepared for our big evening. Last night was the MBA program's annual Spring Ball. I secured Nicole as our babysitter some weeks ago. After getting ready ourselves, Keven and I fed the kids, got them into their jammies, and packed their bed things with the intention that - having gone without naps - they could go to sleep at Nicole's house. We would return to pick them up upon the conclusion of the ball, sometime after 11pm.
Later, we learned that Ilsa had problems with the whole arrangement. She was fine until Nicole's husband, Eric, read everyone a bedtime story. (Nicole and Eric have three kids of their own: Jack, almost five years old, Natalie who is two months younger than Juliette, and their new baby Lily, born in February.) Ilsa decided she wanted nothing to do with that bedtime story, perhaps because she was scared of Erin, so she went and sat by the front door to wait for our return. Eventually, she fell asleep on their welcome mat. Nicole scooted the mat to one side and covered her with a blanket, intending to return her to the bed she was to share with Juliette once Juliette had fallen asleep. Well, because of the new surroundings and the exciting time, it took Juliette an hour to sleep.
Finally, Nicole attempted to move Ilsa, but she woke up fully and began to cry inconsolably. Nicole sat and rocked her for a while until she fell asleep again, which is where we found them upon our return. Ilsa was asleep on their couch and Nicole was sitting with her. Poor Nicole! Plus, Keven and I had such a wonderful time at the ball that we did not leave until shortly before its close at midnight. She was such a good sport about watching the girls for us and freeing us to enjoy ourselves, but I certainly felt guilty about Ilsa and our late return!
However, during the ball I felt no such guilt. I was too busy having a wonderful time. The Graduate Business Association's social chairs really outdid themselves this year, managing to secure corporate sponsorship so that the ball was held at the Overture Center and featured appetizers and free alcohol. Party! Keven introduced me to dozens of people, some of whose names I actually remember. And despite the free alcohol, I paced myself nicely, quit drinking around 10pm, and managed to walk that fine line between tipsy and future hangover. No one wants a hung over mommy, especially not mommy.
The MBAs are a rowdy crowd when you let them loose, so despite the proliferation of suits, tuxes, all manner of fancy dresses, and desperately painful shoes, we danced and danced to everything from Paul Simon's "Cecilia" to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl". Ah, but songs such as "You Shook Me All Night Long" (AC/DC) and "Livin' on a Prayer" (Bon Jovi) made me realize that, despite our excellent clothes, tremendous money-making prospects, and (for the singles and a few others) desperate urges to hook up, we were mostly... old. Of course everyone knew the words to The B-52s "Love Shack" because we were all in junior high or high school. The thing is almost 17 years old!
Downstairs, on the first floor of the Overture Center, a local private Catholic school was having their prom. They would have laughed at us trying to dance to their music, wondering about some of the dorky songs we consider classics of our youth. I was reminded less of clubbing in England than of our night out with Keven's parents' bowls club when we visited England in November of 2004. Sigh. And so it goes.
That said, when I was not contemplating the effects of time and the aging process on one's coolness, I had a blast - which, too, is part of aging. After a point, you just have to say "screw it" and dance anyway because - hey! - the babysitter has the kids till midnight!
After parting from Katka, the girls and I walked the short little block to the Central branch of the Madison Public Library. We had never been there before, so that made two new libraries in one week. We will return to the Central branch repeatedly this summer because it is on several bus lines, we'll be downtown anyway for the farmer's market every Saturday, and it has a wonderful children's section. The children's section is separate from the rest of the library with its own entrance, so I find it much easier to keep track of the girls. If I take up residence close to that entrance, perhaps reading my book, they can be free to roam around and play as they wish. The area has its own kids' size bathrooms, dozens of types of toys (puzzles, coloring, blocks, trains, puppets), and a very extensive collection of materials. I am happy with our discovery.
Turns out we could have taken the bus anyway because Keven did not return until much later than we planned. I took the girls home, rested them (no naps), and the four of us prepared for our big evening. Last night was the MBA program's annual Spring Ball. I secured Nicole as our babysitter some weeks ago. After getting ready ourselves, Keven and I fed the kids, got them into their jammies, and packed their bed things with the intention that - having gone without naps - they could go to sleep at Nicole's house. We would return to pick them up upon the conclusion of the ball, sometime after 11pm.
Later, we learned that Ilsa had problems with the whole arrangement. She was fine until Nicole's husband, Eric, read everyone a bedtime story. (Nicole and Eric have three kids of their own: Jack, almost five years old, Natalie who is two months younger than Juliette, and their new baby Lily, born in February.) Ilsa decided she wanted nothing to do with that bedtime story, perhaps because she was scared of Erin, so she went and sat by the front door to wait for our return. Eventually, she fell asleep on their welcome mat. Nicole scooted the mat to one side and covered her with a blanket, intending to return her to the bed she was to share with Juliette once Juliette had fallen asleep. Well, because of the new surroundings and the exciting time, it took Juliette an hour to sleep.
Finally, Nicole attempted to move Ilsa, but she woke up fully and began to cry inconsolably. Nicole sat and rocked her for a while until she fell asleep again, which is where we found them upon our return. Ilsa was asleep on their couch and Nicole was sitting with her. Poor Nicole! Plus, Keven and I had such a wonderful time at the ball that we did not leave until shortly before its close at midnight. She was such a good sport about watching the girls for us and freeing us to enjoy ourselves, but I certainly felt guilty about Ilsa and our late return!
However, during the ball I felt no such guilt. I was too busy having a wonderful time. The Graduate Business Association's social chairs really outdid themselves this year, managing to secure corporate sponsorship so that the ball was held at the Overture Center and featured appetizers and free alcohol. Party! Keven introduced me to dozens of people, some of whose names I actually remember. And despite the free alcohol, I paced myself nicely, quit drinking around 10pm, and managed to walk that fine line between tipsy and future hangover. No one wants a hung over mommy, especially not mommy.
The MBAs are a rowdy crowd when you let them loose, so despite the proliferation of suits, tuxes, all manner of fancy dresses, and desperately painful shoes, we danced and danced to everything from Paul Simon's "Cecilia" to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl". Ah, but songs such as "You Shook Me All Night Long" (AC/DC) and "Livin' on a Prayer" (Bon Jovi) made me realize that, despite our excellent clothes, tremendous money-making prospects, and (for the singles and a few others) desperate urges to hook up, we were mostly... old. Of course everyone knew the words to The B-52s "Love Shack" because we were all in junior high or high school. The thing is almost 17 years old!
Downstairs, on the first floor of the Overture Center, a local private Catholic school was having their prom. They would have laughed at us trying to dance to their music, wondering about some of the dorky songs we consider classics of our youth. I was reminded less of clubbing in England than of our night out with Keven's parents' bowls club when we visited England in November of 2004. Sigh. And so it goes.
That said, when I was not contemplating the effects of time and the aging process on one's coolness, I had a blast - which, too, is part of aging. After a point, you just have to say "screw it" and dance anyway because - hey! - the babysitter has the kids till midnight!
1 comments:
Is "Love Shack" really that old?? I'm thinking I was in 5th grade when I heard that song for the first time... Sheesh, I feel old.
Post a Comment