Friday, May 25, 2007

i define cool

seriously, i do.

i am sitting at a starbucks at 10 in the morning, listening to some music (cool music, nonetheless), typing a post for my blog on "my" laptop, utilizing the WiFi, while sipping a nice warm caffeinated beverage.

i have no doubt people looking at me totally think i'm a college student in the middle of my minimester and plotting out my hip evening with my friends tonight. you know, my friends who wear low rise jeans and vintage t-shirts with palm trees or lacrosse strung heads on the front. and wearing flip flops, of course.

then, i wake from my little fairy tale.

since i was supposed to be in oklahoma with big h, the goo, and my parents spending time soaking up all of my childhood memories, buz had taken the day off to get work done. the work he can't do while the backyardigans are on or the 10-month-old is asleep with the mobile going. the work he can't do because the paint fumes would be too much for the youngsters. the work he can't do with the 3 1/2-year-old on the backpack. i was unaware that he was taking the day off. you know, because i wasn't supposed to be here anyway. buz knows how i love a good surprise. yes, i am one of those people that really does like to be surprised.

last night, we loaded our kids up on meds to hopefully ensure a solid night sleep for everyone. buz and i watched a movie together, and then he played his game and i went to sleep first.

i got to sleep before buz. (shhh...don't tell. buz has a snoring problem, and i sometimes fear nighttime. my dream is to get to sleep before he does, so i don't have trouble falling asleep. and it happened. i fell asleep first.)

the next thing i knew, it was SEVEN O'CLOCK in the morning. i went and got big h out of bed and buz wasn't in bed. nothing out of the ordinary. so big h and i laid in my bed together watching some dora before the sun got up. all the sudden...the door opened.

and my prince charming entered. with starbucks. however, only one starbucks.

was i allowed to be jealous or wonder where mine was?

until he handed me the keys to his car. he said that he had gone downtown to work to get his laptop and his morning gift to me was the keys to his car and his laptop. "go grab some coffee and have a good time online."

love language, people.

so after i changed diapers and put clothes on little people, i was given my ticket to freedom.

and this is when i began thinking of all the young, hip, cool people who will probably want me to go rock climbing or poetry reading with them. or go with them to the latest art exhibit. you know...young, hip, cool things.

poor me. in true janet fashion, things didn't turn out quite the way i had planned. i got to my local starbucks and ordered my fancy drink and some coffeecake. you know, the coffeecake that is LOADED with butter and other things that are so NOT good for you but taste so extremely delicious. i turned on the computer and typed in his password. and the computer froze. so i called to ask advice. we talked on the phone for a while until i realized it wasn't going to work.

i came back home, only to be greeted by 2 very cute munchkins who thought mommy was alreayd back home. buz called the helpdesk and we figured out hte problem.

and bull if i was going to go back to the same starbucks. luckily, i live in a big city with starbucks literally on every corner. so i headed the opposite direction and walked in with such confidence. i turned it on and started having WiFi issues with the hot spot. if you are my mom or dad and are reading that, i'll explain WiFi next time we talk. don't worry. i finally got it to work and i was feeling good.

yeah, so back to me being really hip. i had to come to the realization very quickly that i am, in fact, not hip. i know, i know...you can't believe it either.

first of all, i haven't showered this morning. and it's not that cool "i havne't showered because i have my 8 o'clock class this morning but i look cool because i have on my boyfriend's SAE baseball hat and my function t-shirt from a couple of weekends ago" look. it's the "i haven't showered because my toddler and infant have had mouth sores and have been on pain relievers, and we have lived at the pediatrician's office" look. i don't have cool low-rise jeans and flip flops and some college t-shirt on. i have on the yoga pants, my shoes (which i'm not sure if i should have bought in the first place), and an old t-shirt from a kamp friend. my hair is still sticky from spit out tylenol and mashed green beans.

i also realized my lack of hipness the other day when i went to the mall. apparently, "peep toed" shoes are in. weren't those in back when my mom was pregnant? i mena, they say fashion always comes full circle. but when did i miss the re-entrance of this fad? and gold? it's coming back in? (stop laughing.) and the big wedges and espadrille platforms that will most likely send me back to the neighborhood ER. and shorts that left me with no imagination for what kind of underwear the girls were wearing. and there i was with my double stroller, sounding very old and unhip. and wearing my daily uniform of white t-shirt, khakis, and tennis shoes. safety. that's always been my fashion motto.

as for my ipod, i am not listening to blake lewis or maroon 5 or any other band that i am not even familiar with. and i'm not looking at itunes.com looking for the latest band or solo artist to download. i am listening to "it's about love" by one of the judds, which is the ending song of the veggie tales "lord of the beans." and i am looking on itunes.com at the 2 backyardigans CDs trying to decide which one has the most songs big h would recognize.

i am not making a list of all the clubs and college football games i want to go to in the next couple of months. i am making a list of things to do the next couple of days. one of which includes returning some very fun shoes to DSW because really, i need to get the goo some summer clothes that will fit her growing little 10-month figure.

i am not making a list in my spiral notebook of all the characteristics i want my next boyfriend to have. i am writing in my journal (that i keep in my diaper bag) and making a list of all the things i love about buz. a couple of those things:

  • him giving up his morning/afternoon off so i can go sit at starbucks and look hip, young, and cool.
  • he watches DVRd oprahs with me (sometimes -- don't let the word get out because he will deny it the first chance he gets).
  • he changes clothes the minute he walks in the door from work so he can get on the floor and play with both kiddos.
  • he calls me the minute he gets into his car and is headed home from work.
  • the way he puts pictures i have taken on his computer as the desktop so that he has an opportunity to tell people that "my wife takes pictures."
  • i have never heard him raise his voice with big h (this one brings me to my knees).
  • he compliments me on anything i ever cook (being that cooking is so rare around our house).
  • he genuinely cares for other people, no matter who they are. i am amazed taht he has meetings during the day with the CEO, surgeons, secretaries from all over the hospital, social workers, patients and their families. and he gives each one of them his undivided attention every time.
  • 90% of his communication with me is nonverbal.
  • my mother is in LOVE with them. talk about scoring big points. he calls his mother-in-law on his way home from work sometimes just to say hello. yeah, he is that guy that makes your husband look bad. :)
  • he calls his mother on his way home from work and ALWAYS tells her he loves her.
  • he doesn't bother talking to me about my latest bag purchase. people, i have an addiction. diaper bags just made it worse. and he loves me for it.
  • he is 37 years old and plays with legos, playstation, and nerdy "conquer the world" computer games.
  • that he moves his mouth when he writes. and denies it.
  • the way he knows me IN and OUT, quirks and all.
  • and loves me anyway.
  • his passion for his family. i can safely say that there is nowhere he'd rather be than with the 3 of us.
  • his passion for Christ.

this is not, i repeat NOT, my own attempt at what he did a couple of weeks ago. trust me, i wouldn't even try.

anyway, see what i mean? i'm not a young, hip college student with dreams of becoming this or that. i am actually living my dream right now. and i'm getting ready to pack up my things and go back home. where my 3 dreams are.

can you take the sap? :)

4 comments:

R said...

J received a Starbucks gift card form one of the students at his school yesterday, and I found it sitting on my purse this morning after he left! (Have I used it yet?! No...)

I can relate...J often will come home and tell me to go do whatever I want to do; he'll take the baby out for a date or something equally fun, but I always end up back home very quickly. :0) They're my 2 favorite people!

Aunt Boo said...

This was a very very sweet post. Ya'll are such a loving family.

Amanda

Anonymous said...

i can take the sap and i wish i was half as cool as you are/were, the whole nine yards!

Anonymous said...

Took me time to read the whole article, the article is great but the comments bring more brainstorm ideas, thanks.

- Johnson