Week 21 Day 2: Some assembly required

Something I neglected to mention yesterday (and was also beyond the scope of yesterday's post since it has nothing to do with sandals): Gavin and I went to the Royal Oak library and he played in the kids' section. There are Duplo blocks and hand puppets and stuff. While we were there a girl (and by "girl" I mean maybe 18. I suppose I could say "young woman," but that makes me sound really old) asked how old Gavin was and I told her 10 months (the truth) and she looked at him and then looked back at me and said, "He really looks like you." And so of course I explained to her that he wasn't biologically mine and how he was born using donor sperm and in vitro fertilization and how much money that costs and how long it took along with very detailed information about my wife's reproductive organs. I'm kidding. I would never do that. I just said thank you and said that a lot of people say that and I take it as a compliment.

I just put Gavin's bike together. Except it's not really a bike, it's kind of a big wheel on rails so it can move like a rocking horse. Later it can transform to a big wheel with a handle sticking out the back so I can push Gavin down the street. And later that handle can come off and Gavin will be on his own, free to cruise up and down 8 Mile as he pleases. So long as he isn't over 50 lbs. by then, since that is the weight limit. It's supposed to have Backyardigans stickers on it, but Stacy and I didn't want to put those stickers on because they're ugly and dumb. So instead I cut up a SASHA Farm bumper sticker with a drawing of a monkey covering his mouth next to the words, "The fourth monkey: Eat no evil." So Gavin's got a little vegetarian trike, which is appropriate.

His trike had a lot of parts. And required a lot of screwdriver use. After I was done I opened my hand to show Stacy and said, "I've got a blister from so much screwing," and Stacy gave me a very pitiful but sweet look and said, "That's what she said." Nice. Truth be told I would have said the exact same thing to her. Which is the why she said it to me in the first place. I bring these things on myself.

A tip for parents: when assembling complicated and confusing toys for your child, do not attempt to involve your child in any way. This will only result in you trying to keep the small parts out of his mouth and taking the screwdriver and hammer out of his hands multiple times while saying, "No, not for babies." It's also likely that your child will learn some swears.

I'm glad I put the trike together tonight because I needed something to focus on and stay busy. Today's big outting was, unfortunately, to the hospital to see my grandpa who had a stroke over the weekend and is not doing well. Stacy had taken today off and that ended up working really well because she and Gavin were able to come to the hospital with me. Laura also came and she entertained Gavin on the way there and on the way back. My grandpa is at the same hospital where Gavin was born and where Laura and I were born, too. I hadn't been there since the day we took Gavin home from the hospital and I got lost on the way from the parking structure to the building and left Stacy and Gavin at the curb where the hospital volunteer who'd wheeled them down stairs and to the curb to wait for me regaled Stacy with stories about how he used to have a mistress. Then he asked if Stacy and I were sisters. So it was a weird feeling to be back there, especially with Gavin in tow. Since we had him with us we couldn't stay long since Gavin has a limited window of patience with not being able to crawl around and destroy things. But we were there long enough to say hello and talk to him a little bit and say goodbye. Gavin was a little squirmy but overall very well behaved. I am very lucky that he is my son.