Camera Fail

So I've been trying for some time to provide some pictures of something other than Miles, at home, and thus prove that Jon and I do other than to admire Miles, at home. Several gatherings have had me smacking my forehead (forgot the camera AGAIN!) and shrugging it off. On Saturday, I came so close to being able to provide evidence of Other Activities when, on the way to the National Book Festival in D.C., the camera made it all the way to the car! and then, didn't get into the diaper bag. It was almost funny. Not quite, though; I take these things personally.

Said festival was AMAZING, though. I wish so much to have been able to absorb more than we did. As it was, I heard Lois Lowry, author of favorites such as The Giver and Number the Stars, tell stories and free-associate about her childhood and her creative process (she's so witty!!). Later, I heard Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran (I enthusiastically recommend that one) speak movingly about the role of literature in allowing people to speak to each other across time and culture. My WORD, she was inspiring. Highlights: Don't pidgeonhole her to Islamic Studies and Women's Studies just because she's an outstanding woman from Iran; she's a literature professor who taught The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice as well as the works of Rumi. Also, don't let Iran be only known to you as the land of Islamic extremism unless you want the U.S. to be only known as the land of slavery and Jim Crow. Finally, I got to hear most of Judy Blume's presentation (imagine children asking her questions about Fudge's character and Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret's content and adults asking about the inspiration for Summer Sisters). It was glorious.

That said, what an effort it is to do anything with a baby! I've given this a lot of thought, lately: we take Miles with us everywhere. We kind of figure that, given the complications associated with breastfeeding and the fact that I sometimes have trouble concentrating when Miles is away from me for long (sounds counter-intuitive, I know), it's easiest and best just to bring him. But... oh my, everything was so much more difficult on Saturday, braving the unprecedented crowds at this event, in the cold-ish rain, with seating nearly impossible to attain and shelter only an occasional luxury! Having to search for changing tables and struggling with the conflict of Miles needs to eat vs. I really want to hear this speaker made this our most challenging outing with him. Still... I am a determined person. We MUST go out, we MUST do at least some of the things we love post-baby, and so far I'm still resolved to bring Miles with us, most of the time. He's just too much fun to leave behind, anyway.

We had a little encounter with a stranger that got me thinking, and I'd appreciate anyone and everyone's comments about this. We had a woman INSIST on covering his stroller with her spare tarp, and she was none too nice about it. "Uh-uh," she said, when she saw how we had him covered with the canopies of the stroller and the jacket he was wearing. "That's not going to work. I'm a scientist," she assured us (??), "and I get kind of upset. This is not safe. How old is he?" and when I answered, I got another, "Uh-uh. That's not safe, honey," and she installed the tarp herself, checking it briskly for air flow and water tightness. I did thank her, though her behavior made this feel a bit forced, and accepted for Miles' sake. This got me thinking, because I was, of course, irritated, BUT.... Miles was drier.

I kind of concluded that, though I am inconvenienced by having a baby on me sometimes, other people are also inconvenienced by his presence in many ways. It occurred to me that this is a hospitality issue. If other people have to wait for me, offer me a seat (one lady finally did, Melissa!), get out of the way for his carriage, and bear with me feeding him in public, standing up, I can probably take people's well-intended, if pushy and rude, ways of trying to help. I mean, many people require hospitality when they go out in public: people with babies, people with dogs, people who weigh three hundred pounds, people in wheelchairs, people with bad breath, people who are old, people who are new drivers, from out of town... it goes on and on. We HAVE to extend hospitality to others, whatever that means, if we want to receive it ourselves.

Thoughts?

Anyway, here are some misc. Miles-at-home pics