Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet to My Head

My husband nags me A LOT about not liking Bob Seeger. It's apparently some sort of rock and roll sin. Who knew? The thing is that I want to like Bob Seeger. I really, really do. It's the kind of music I like and I find his voice to be listenable. (I mention this because I likewise want to like Bob Dylan and I really, really like his songs, but his voice makes me want to scream. Same with Kris Kristopherson.) I like the words to his songs and the melodies and I even find myself humming them sometimes.

However, whenever he pops in his Bob Seeger CD collection (he may only have one, I need to confess) my head feels like popping off my shoulders and rolling under the carpet for protection. It's just like I'm sick of it. Except I haven't listened to it in months, perhaps years. It's like that every time. He could put it away for 20 years, get it out and I'd scream bloody murder and start singing Counting Crows tunes at the top of my lungs.

You see, my mom used to have this car. It was big and gray and I think it was a station wagon. The power steering was bad and when it turned it made this sound like pigs being slaughtered. This was when I was in middle school and my most vulnerable socially. She was very good to me about because she knew it embarassed me and all, so she would stop and put in fluid when she could (which made the noise go away for about 10 minutes). My mommy loved me and tried really, really hard.

In addition to the pig squealling noise, though, this car had a radio that didn't quite work right and an 8-track tape deck. Just so you know, this was the early 90's. Not an 8-track in sight.

My mom, went looking for her 8-track collection and came up with 2. Bob Seeger and Bob Seeger. They were the same tape. Live somewhere or something. So, that was the only thing we could listen to in the car. The whole time I was growing up, I don't remember a single moment in the car without radio on unless mom thought something might explode. (My darling dearest daughter HATES the radio being on in the car. Where did that come from, I ask you and when, exactly will she grow out of it?

So, it was all Bob Seeger all the time. And this is the result. I feel a total Seeger aversion. All the time.

Thankfully, that car only lasted so long and then we got a car with a real tape deck and mom bought the single to "Once bitten, Twice Shy" by Great White. And, boy, was I cool cranking that with my mom and the windows down.

Those were the days.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Okay, so I really feel like I'm sucking at this blogging thing. I did really well for a long time and now I just totally forget I have one for weeks at a time. I blame the pregnancy brain. I blame that for everything right now, but maybe it's actually at fault for everything. I know it's at fault for me having to re-type the word actually 5 times just now.

I am definately feeling this pregnancy more than the last one. Although the morning sickness isn't quite as bad, or as long-lasting, the fatigue is killing me, I'm a total hormonal nutcase and I'm having the weirdest dreams in the world. Through my first pregnancies, I talked a lot about how we should be more direct with teenage girls about the side effects of pregnancy, the misery, the weariness, the sickness, the lack of sleep. If we were brutally honest about all the horrors of having that cute little angel inside you, it might make an impact on teenage pregnancy rates.

This time, however, I have a new perspective. I feel that pregnancy symptoms are all a preparation for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. It may seem temporary that you will have to drag yourself, barely awake, through even the most mundane day. But, it's not. What I have learned with a three-year old at home is that sleeping through the night, while a blessing, isn't a guarantee. There will be nights when your precious darling wakes every half hour on the half hour for no apparent reason. I'm guessing this will continue until they are at least in college. Of course, I can only hope that there will come a point where it is patently un-cool to climb in my bed because of those waking moments.

Likewise, morning sickness prepares you for your body's reaction to the myriad of new germs that you will face as a parent. I don't quite understand why this should be so, but it seems to be. Perhaps it's the same old germs, but the stress makes you react to them differently.

Random crying and screaming are also an established part of parenthood.

It seems unfair, then, that we should have to endure these symptoms with every child. As an experienced mother, shouldn't I be exempt? I know what's ahead and I'm going through with it anyway. Shouldn't that spare me from the pain? Or make me insane? Take your pick.

In any case, the good news is that I only have 30 weeks to go. 30 weeks. That is slightly less than a year. Sigh.