Beached Whale
Good Day. Below is a Life Flashes: A Memoir entry featuring my niece Kristin, who mothered two now teenage boys.
Monday May 24, 2010
Niece Kristin and her husband Payden are now living in Cohasset. Last week, Kristin and I worked for eight hours, organizing and deep-cleaning first-floor rooms inside the Sullivan family two-story ranch-style new home. Kristin and I were elated when we finished the project; we initially speculated that the spring cleaning project required several days of work.
This past Saturday evening, Kristin, nearly two-year-old Zachariah and I dined together; we shared food Kristin had prepared. Following the meal, Kristin placed Zach on the baby room crib mattress and gave him a small bottle, which was nearly filled with warm milk. He grasped and began sucking the bottle nipple. He was soon sleeping. Moments later, Kristin and I were sharing good news gossip after each of us sat down on the living room couch; as we continued talking, we began sipping apple juice that Katie had poured into large wine glasses. Utilizing forks and knives as well as napkins, we alternatively ate circular and spongy strawberry shortcake pieces topped with whipped cream and strawberries; Katie had previously prepared and plated the delicious dessert.
A friend of Kristin, named Carmella, recently called her. Carmella asked Kristin to go out to lunch sometime soon; Carmella is also a young wife and mother of two young children. Kristin is pregnant again; she and Payden are expecting a second son; she is due in October. While she and I were sharing conversation, she reminisced about the conversation that she had recently shared with Carmella. She said she and Carmella began giggling as both of the girls remembered days when they were single, entering night clubs, and when doing so were wearing make-up, nail polish, attractive dresses, and nylons, as well as stiletto high heels complementing the apparel.
Giggling, Kristin suddenly asked Carmella, “What the heck happened? Now, we’re both married, wearing tee shirts and sweatpants, not using make-up, and hardly ever thinking about hairstyling. We’re running around, following kids all day and half of the night; I feel like a beached whale, with a bad back. What about you, Carmella?”