Hey kiddie kiddie 2

AC turned out to be a real angel after all. We did silly things, laughed, and bonded. It's a wonderful feeling to crack a kid up.

We had Round Table's new Pepperoni Artisan pizza whilst AC's Mom was having her tummy incised by laser so that a human being could be extracted. Elsie would later report that she smelled burnt flesh while hearing intermittent buzzing in a distance.

Nice. I think i'll stay childless.

AC finally fell asleep at a quarter to 11. My brother W got home 15 minutes later. He took a sniff and frowned, "Smells like garbage in here!" Yes, AC had been pungent for hours then. Alas, i was not equipped with the skills to change him.

Even after W changed AC, the odor wouldn't die. I stayed and chatted for half an hour anyway. And willingly so. I did not wish i had been home drinking instead.

Didn't get home till midnight. Then, with all the excitement/commotion going on, i couldn't sleep. With 5.5 hours of sleep in my tank, i still put in a smidgen of overtime at work today.

I drove over to the hospital right after work to see Elsie. She was in pretty good shape. W came by for 5 minutes to drop off dinner and then had to run off to pick up AC from daycare. Then he'd have to stay home with AC for the rest of the night.

I stayed to keep Elsie company. We talked and had such a great time, like we hadn't in ages. Like old times. It's amazing how kids change your life forever. With AC around, Elsie never really relaxes. She always keeps an eye on him. It's like she's never just herself. She's always Mom first, person second. It has to be exhausting. I feel exhausted for her.

The newborn was in the NICU due to labored breathing. But he was improving rapidly. This could be the last time Elsie and i would chat like this in a great while. I took the moment in. This is it. This is history.

I stayed a lot longer than i'd planned. She seemed glad. And I was happy to be there for her.

Last Sunday i'd written to my best friend IA about wanting to be part of something greater, wanting my existence to count somehow. I considered volunteering at a soup kitchen or something. JD and i used to laugh at this notion. As if we could muster up enough strength, and make it stick, we proclaimed.

Well perhaps i don't have to look far to make a difference. Maybe i start small. Maybe i start with the people closest to me. After all, it's a big world comprised of small parts.