Waiting On The Notary
A lazy, nice day. Except that I’m tired. I think I’m becoming (more and more) my mother’s daughter. The books say you should try to nap with your child to conserve energy for him. This strikes me as insane: naptime is for (1) cleaning, (2) work, (3) spending some time with David, in approximately that order. I have no idea what I did this morning other than play with and feed Otis, but it must have been cleaning, work, and talking to David. It’s getting like that. Not bad, in fact really nice, but tiring. And not because of sleep deprivation – just constant activity. Mainly, I realize that, for me, it’s never been about sleep (sleep, bah!), but there were always moments in the day when you could just plotz. Apparently not for a few years now. Oh well, between the walking, the home-cooked diet, and the activity level, I’m losing weight! (One of the regulars among the KZ adoption e-groups reported the same phenomenon, and apparently she kept the weight off, so silver linings abound.)
We spent endless time at a notary today with Max. First, we showed up for our 2 PM appointment on time, and she was finishing lunch, which she continued to do for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Otis fell asleep (pictured). Several extremely crabby (because of the absence of the notary) people walked in to the tiny waiting area; all were instantly abashed at seeing sleeping O. Our favorite being a really, really pissed security guard, who practically did a cartoon double take at sleeping O. It was very cute. Eventually, the support staff in the adjacent office asked if O and I wanted to share a couch in their office. The kid-centricity of this place is really special. Otis and I then spent a very exciting additional hour napping, staring into space, and playing with a set of keys that had been left in the door. David said he didn’t experience a great deal more excitement in the notary’s office. The number of stamps, seals, ribbons, strings and stickers that have to be attached to the most mundane paperwork is amazing.
DJ: Being a Notary here is a vocation unto itself, more like a storefront lawyer, their offices are everywhere, unlike in the US, where nobody makes a living being a Notary.
posted by Candace and David at 7/29/2005 09:21:00 AM
8 Comments:
Greetings from Arizona,
We just returned from a visit with the new aunt & uncle,grandparents, and Bruno. Can't say we'd have recognized Bruno. He looked so different all grown up with the wirey, curley hair. He was well behaved, & excited about getting back to NY, but is concerned about going down a notch in the family hierarchy. He and Brutus had lots of fun fighting over "squeaky-mon" and wrestling together. We're all concerned about what Brutus will do without the entertainment next week. He sure is a cute puppy!
It's sounds like you're getting the whole parenthood experience complete with diaper explosion. Hope that long trip home with your adorable baby goes reasonably well.
Pat and Bob
P.S. We had fun stroller shopping with J & D, but didn't yet pick up the beverage necessities. requested.
David is also rapidly becoming his mother's son, at least facially. Karen and I have both been struck by how much he looks like Mom in these recent pictures. Family opinion always was that Karen looked the most like Mom, but it's clearly David -- it's just that weight and the occasional beard have obscured it.
I remember the notary/scribe phenomenon in Algeria when I lived there. There was one on virtually every street corner. They sat on the sidewalks, with their ancient little typewriters on portable stands, handling paperwork for people on a walk-up basis. There was still a significant percentage of analphabets in the population at that time.
JMOD says:
I didn't even have to say,"I told you so." DHD response to me was, "and you're becoming more and more like your mother!" Well, I don't know what that portends for you.
Bruno and Brutus are becoming loving brothers. At least we found them in friendly poses: this A.M. Brutus decided to share Bruno's famous pillow with him.
JMOD says;
Chalk the triplicated comments up to inexperience, which, after all is one of the best ways to learn: for parents also.
OK, at 21:00 Friday night, I come up with 193 hours 'til touchdown at JFK.
So great that you're having fun! I too have been impressed with how exhausting it is just to pay almost constant attention in the way that babies demand.
In funnier news, the Times is reporting that ALMATY is bidding for the 2014 winter olympics! Sounds like an HR&A project to me...
Hey David,
I'm still trying to log onto your website but unfortunately Beijing won't let me do that. This has been happening all the time.
In any case, I wouldn't count on Mel getting Otis any Yankee stuff however, she may get him some Mets
paraphanalia.
By the way, Manchester United was staying at my hotel last week. One guy threw an egg at a staffer in the business center because it wasn't cooked to his liking and he was annoyed with the language barrier. I guess this explains all of the Soccer riots and why I
could care less about the sport in general.
Take care and have a safe trip home--Brooks
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