staring down the silent porcelain army I officially went off my special diet today by eating en egg mcmuffin with hashbrowns and a Pepsi. Really, can you think of a worse breakfast? Besides perhaps chicken-fried steak with sausage, hasbrowns, pankakes and straight shots of tequila? I often like to venture out into the world, as far as my front yard. I spread a blanket where I plop the baby down with a toy or two so that I can read in peace for a few minutes, before I notice she is eating termites or something. We don't have a private yard, though, so inevitably one of the group of neighborhood girls will spot us, shriek "BAYBEEEEEE!" and come running over. The core group is of three girls, about 8 or 9 years old, who are members of the "Best Friends Forever Club", and who are always threatening to quit said club because of some grievous offense committed by one of the other members. After the girls' arrival, my basic function is crowd control, because they will want to haul my fat little one all over town on little adventures. I did permit a trip across the street to visit the grandmother of one of the girls. She is an old, old, old Cuban woman is cornered in a chair by hundreds and hundreds of porcelain figurines, some depicting Catholic saints, others Buddha and Chinese fishermen. The old woman sat and quietly commented in Spanish on how fat the baby was, I said goodbye and we left. Hanging out with little girls sometimes makes for a very surreal life. |