Once upon a time, I thought I knew everything. And as all fairy tales start, this too starts at Disneyland. Thought I had learned all there was to learn. I couldn't possibly imagine what there was left to learn. Love, truth, nature, beauty, 19 century British History, not to mention how to lead the triple step and the fox trot as seen above. Yup that's me bustin' a swing move at the Carnation plaza (well near it anyway) with my back to ya...did I mention Love?
--Then I got married, woke up three days into my honeymoon and realized, I didn't know anything. Especially Love. "You were like, what, twelve?" my former coworker Darlene said. Real funny. "Just about," I said. And we laughed. Me kind of and her really laughing. Getting married kind of made me feel like a twelve year-old pip-squeak again looking up at all of these giant things I needed to learn. Except mom wasn't in the room down the hall Plus there's the initial mechanics of the whole thing that never seem to make it into the hours of girlhood fantasizing like, do I shut the door when I go to the bathroom when going number two or leave it open to promote closeness?? Do I lock the door when I wax or do it right out in front of him nonchalantly? Whose gonna make the bed? He doesn't expect me to do his laundry...does he???
--Then I had a baby and, well, with the ten people in the delivery room only two of which I knew by name (one being my husband)...any inhibitions I may have had flew right out the window. Suddenly questions about mechanics just don't seem relevant anymore.
--A month after we had Black-Foot Boony (his pirate name), my husband gave me one of many wonderful birthday presents (November, Scorpio). We were sitting on the blue Ikea rug in our family-student housing bungalow, our little three-week old pup asleep and he handed me a UC study abroad packet...to Sienna, Italy. "What's this," I asked. We had no money as we were students in our last year of college. "For your present we are going to study abroad in Italy spring quarter. We will both apply and whoever gets in will allow us to go...but if we both get in you will take Italian and I will stay in the apartment and watch the baby. On afternoons and weekends we will see Italy."
And I did.
And we did.
And he did.
The only thing I can say about Italy is that it is where we created our own style of being together away from moms and friends. Some day we will live there. Some day.
We graduated college. Much to my mom's relief.
--Law school was next and my first venture as Stay-at-home Mom. Homemaker. Domestic Engineer. CEO of the fam. In South Central Los Angeles. Bars on everything. And a guy who would collect cans out of the dumpster in the alley outside our bedroom window and proceed to crush them at six 0'clock every morning. I learned that being a stay at home mom was the hardest thing I had ever done and tried to think of ways to get back into school.
--Then came the Horseman...talking the moment he popped out. And with the Horseman, law school graduation.
--Then came Soda. Well, Soda wasn't really planned. There's a story there, for another time.
--A house finally, with a big oven.
And through it all, I cooked dinner. I can still remember what we ate on that hand-me-down drafting table in student housing that night he gave me Italy for my birthday.
Love & Stuff,
The Good Food Fairy
