We Are a Case Study In Passive-Aggressive Behavior

Isn't it sad when adults can't act like adults?

We went to Target last night because we were bored. (We've gotten very used to having Bob around all the time but for that 72 hours a month when he's with db, and having him gone on "summer vacation" time for 3 days has been, well, weird.) I found myself looking at baby crap and feeling pouty. Which made me feel not only like the World's Biggest Hypocrite, but also like the World's Biggest Sap and the World's Biggest Loony. When we got in the car to go home, I tried to start a conversation about my inner turmoil without letting on exactly what was causing said turmoil.

But Ben and Bob, genetically related or not, are cut from the same I Refuse To Drop It Until You Tell Me cloth. Which means Ben is extremely obstinate and I'm extremely used to ignoring the pleas of the extremely obstinate. So the conversation sounded very much like a Bob and Mommy conversation until I decided to try a different approach.

"So, you know how you always say you couldn't stand to have an 8-5 job where you sat at a desk all day? Well, what if one day, you decided you might really like having a desk job--wouldn't you feel weird about it?"

"Uh...do you want a desk job?" (The boy catches on fast.)

"I don't know. I mean, I think I do, but then it's like, what if I got a desk job and I didn't like it?"

The baby-as-desk-job euphemism continued on for a bit, and then we dropped the subject altogether. It came up again late in the evening, as I was falling in and out of consciousness on the couch while he played Wii tennis.

So we decided to "see what happens."

I have to say, doing it is much more fun now that I'm not concerned about the possible outcome...

Oh, and I painted the bookcase today. I learned a few things:

• if you paint something outdoors, you WILL have to pull dead bugs off of it. Lots of them.
• if you don't lay a large dropcloth, you WILL end up with grass-shaped unpainted spots.
• you cannot paint a bookcase with only one can of spraypaint. You WILL be making another trip to the hardware store.
• the second can you purchase WILL have a problem in the nozzle, causing paint to cascade over your hand as you begin to spray.
• paint WILL NOT wash off with soap and elbow grease. You WILL send your husband to the hardware store--again--for paint thinner so you don't look like you're reliving your favorite Sesame Street episode (the one where Burt has a purple hand).
• the finished product won't be perfect, but it WILL look better than when you started, and it will be quite nice for your virgin painting effort. However, you WILL scratch it up a bit when you put the shelves back in (but books will cover that up so who cares).
• you WILL decide to wait till next weekend to paint the china cabinet.