A Day of Finallies

Today is a day of FINALLIES. (That is finally, pluralized. Not an actual word, but I feel a bit grammatically rebellious today.) There are several unanswered questions and uncompleted projects that are finally being answered and coming to an end today. I would be giddy with anticipation, except I am sitting at work. Giddy and work don't exactly go together. So instead, I will just sit here quietly, stoically pleased with today's unfolding events.

First and foremost, the gigantic hole in my living room wall created by an ice dam way the heck back at Christmas time is finally being repaired. We've been putting it off and putting it off because we will be without our living room for a week while they do the repairs. They are unable to match the speckling on our ceiling, so the entire ceiling will have to be scraped and replaced. Initially, we said, “Let's do it after Christmas” since we were hosting Christmas at our house. Then it became, “Well, let's wait and make sure we don't have other ice dam issues this winter.” Then it was, “Let's wait and get the flashing around the chimney fixed before we repair the wall.” Then it was, “Well, let's wait until we get our tax return since we have to pay our $1000 deductible to get it fixed.” Then it eventually became, “We're hosting Easter at our house, so we should probably wait until after that.” Eventually, we ran out of excuses and had to bite the bullet. So the plaster guys were going to be at my house at 7:30 this morning to begin the process of repairing our living room. I am not looking forward to a week without my living room. But I also can't wait to put the family pictures back on the mantle and have a complete, hole-free living space again. I am not a fan of holey living.

Today at precisely 10:00AM, my sister is having her twenty-week ultrasound to find out the sex of her baby. I expect—and better be receiving—a text while she is still covered in gooey gel. I have refrained from baby shopping because, quite frankly, all of the gender-neutral clothing is hideous. I mean seriously, does anyone really look good in yellow? So I am looking forward to the opportunity to shop for cute little gender-specific frocks. I miss shopping for baby clothes. I don't miss it enough to have another baby by any means, but I do miss it. Ruanita held a coworker's newborn baby at work the other day and came home all gooey and gushy with that look in her eye. You know the look. The one that says, “I think we should have another baby.” More precisely, since Ruanita is the proud owner of a forty-seven years old uterus, the look actually said, “I think YOU should have another baby.” She denies that her face possesses that look. However, several times in the last week or two, she has made comments—completely out of the blue—about how there is no way we are having another baby. Proof positive that she has been thinking about it. So...my sister's baby needs to get cooking so it can get here soon. Like now. Ruanita needs a baby to coo over and kiss on—one that is in no way compromises my uterine integrity.

After months and months of nagging—or rather gentle, loving prodding—Ruanita has finally broken my spirit. I didn't want to do it, but I finally put our wonderful, reliable, well-loved double stroller on Craigslist for sale. An era has ended. A milestone has been reached. Sophie and Nicholas are turning five years old on June 18th. Despite my best efforts at denial, they are no longer babies. Though still willing to ride in the stroller, they really look quite ridiculous with their long skinny legs dragging the ground. So we are selling. It's a bit sad and more than a little bittersweet, but it'll be nice to no longer have it taking up space in my basement. Of course, we could always have another set of twins to fill the stroller. But that seems ridiculous. And would compromise my uterine integrity which, as indicated above, I am not all that interested in.

So today is a day of change. A day of questions answered and milestones reached. A day of finallies. (Still not a word, but I like it.)