Frickin' Babies

Yesterday, I:

• had a sprouted bagel with cream cheese and a coffee for breakfast;


• had another sprouted bagel with cream cheese with a Diet Coke for lunch;


• ate a piece of chocolate and two packages of crackers (the kind you get with soup in a restaurant) on the walk home to avoid fainting from hunger;


• ate a bowl of clam chowder with toast for dinner;


• chugged some Crystal Light.

This morning, I:

• had a piece of chocolate on the BART platform on the way to work;


• have skipped breakfast because I was late to work and didn't want to dawdle in the office kitchen;


• am drinking coffee;


• checked my email through my phone while walking to work and found out my eighteen year old sister is pregnant AGAIN;


• nearly started to cry.

Not out of envy, mind you. More like the sort of reaction one has when they see a bus heading straight toward someone they love. And I'm not saying this because she's eighteen and unmarried and lives with our dad. There are a lot of ways where, under those conditions, her pregnancy would be a cause for joy. She could be one of those teen mothers one sometimes encounters that put so-called adult parents to shame with their dedication and joy in parenting. It could be a profound, life-changing experience that brings everything into perspective and enriches life-

However.

That is not what is happening. What is happening is my dad unofficially adopting the child she already has because she is busy partying. The child recognizes our younger sister more than he recognizes her, because our younger sister spends more time with him. Perhaps it won't always be this way, but that's how it is now, and I must say our dad is partly to blame. It is right that he should try to help where he can, but there is a difference between helping out with a baby and co-opting it that he hasn't distinguished yet. It's all a big mess, frankly, and it's only going to get messier.

So, stay tuned! More baby knitting to follow. I only hope the other stuff I made wasn't thrown out or given away. Now, to go gnash my teeth and rend my hair...

P.S. - the bridge in the previous post? That's the Golden Gate. Love California summers!