Mocha Momma tagged me for this meme.

The rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

First Random Thing: I would totally do Jack Tripper. There’s a great ad for Three’s Company reruns on Deja Vu. I’m a sucker for physical comedy. I think that’s why I always liked Chandler Bing so much, too.

Second Random Thing: When I was Little Ame, I used to rub the satin edging on a little pink blanket while I sucked my thumb. I would rub the satin right off the fabric, so it would no longer be slippery, just threadbare.

Third Random Thing: Remember the guy on the old school Sesame Street shows who would sneak along and paint a random number on a window? I called him “The Scaredy Man” and I would hide behind the couch whenever he came on. Wikipedia calls him The Number Painter. Also, look! Stockard Channing. LOVE HER. I hear this music and I’m three years old. Nostalgia overload.

Fourth Random Thing: In my home office I have a crazy salt crystal lamp that is supposed to counter the effect of evil death rays from the computer. It’s pretty.

Fifth Random Thing: It’s 9:13 p.m. right now and Graham has been sleeping since about 5:45. He gets up around 4:00 a.m. usually, and today he had a hard time getting up which means he’s extra tired. Although I’ve spent the evening alone on the couch, sometimes I don’t mind this because it means he’ll be rested and a happy, rested husband makes for a happy, rested me. Also, I get to watch whatever I want (48 Hours Mysteries!) and spend a whole damn evening online if I want. Popcorn? Hell yes.

Sixth Random Thing: When I worked on the Disney Wonder cruise ship I had to do traffic control for the boat drill on the first day of each cruise, telling parents they shouldn’t bring their cocktails to the boat drill, and that they might like to put some shoes on their kids. Don’t I look hot wearing this electric orange, giant pillow-of-a-life jacket?

Now that you know some random stuff about me. I’m interested in hearing six random things from:

• Kolleen at Not Your Regular Minivan Mom,
• Ainsley at Ainselife,
• Melissa at Inquisitrix,
• Sam at Temporarily Me,
• Ali at Cheaper than Therapy, and
• Kyla at The Journey (because if we’re going to spoon in San Francisco, I feel I need to know a few of your dirty little secrets!)

I feel sort of melancholy today. It’s 11:30 in the morning and already I’ve done two loads of laundry, hung them on the line, started supper in the crock pot, emptied the dishwasher, searched the house for Farley’s collar (to no avail), done a bit of editing work, potted up some seedlings, brought the rest outside to begin hardening off, edged and expanded my herb garden and planted some rhubarb. I’m not usually this industrious unless I have something on my mind. Today is no exception.

Yesterday I babysat the little girl that my mom takes care of for a few hours. I took her to the grocery store with me. She brought her baby doll with her and sat in the grocery cart while we shopped, looking at everything on the shelves. Suddenly my whole shopping strategy was in question… Her hinting tactics need some help…she kept saying things like, “I like THOSE!” and “What are those pretty pink things?” (Real subtle.) She was a good girl, though, and I just kept saying things like, “I like goldfish crackers, too,” or “You don’t like pickles? Graham loves pickles.” I took her to McDonald’s for lunch and she played in the indoor playground for a few minutes before we had to head back to meet up with my mom.

It was a bizarre experience to look into the back seat and see a child sitting there. We listened to Radio Disney on the Sirius and she asked to turn up Miley Cyrus. “Ya know what? Her dad is a singer, too,” she informed me. For a four-year-old, this kid is up on her pop culture.

The other day Graham and I were at Zeller’s in the electronics department, looking for an LCD screen for my office (they had none, in case you’re wondering). Graham was interested in the car seats and strollers, checking out prices. He seems to be tallying up a grand total for the price of having a baby these days. I caught him checking out crib prices at Wal-Mart online the other day. Um, hello? Not pregnant over here! It’s cute, though. I guess it’s a man’s way of preparing himself for eventual fatherhood.

And then there’s Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is hard for me because I feel pulled in several directions. It usually works best if Graham spends time with his mum that day, and I spend time with my mom. But this year my mom has made a point of asking if this is the way it’s always going to be. She wants a son-in-law, she says. I don’t blame her, but as I’ve told her before, I doubt very much that she and Graham will ever have the kind of friendship in-law relationship that she would like to have. They are just so very different. I refuse to take on responsibility for whatever relationship they have, though. I can’t manage that. It’s bad for my own mind and heart. I hope someday we will have Mother’s Day together, our little family and my mom, and that it will not be uncomfortable, and that we can all feel friendly together.

So, yeah. That’s what’s on my mind. Now excuse me, I have to go vacuum every floor in the house.

When I read over at Better Than a Playdate that a virtual baby shower was being held for three lovely ladies who are expanding their families to include a second child, I thought long and hard about what to write for them. Her Bad Mother, Chicky Chicky Baby, Mrs. Chicken and Sam are all about to become a new kind of parent, the kind that has so much love in her heart that she can see beyond the late nights, lack of sleep, adventures in poop, teething, bumps and bruises, and throw their arms around two children.

These kinds of blog shower events are always a little bit tricky for me because I don’t have any kids, which means I don’t have any parenting advice to give. The only frame of reference I have for talking about being a parent to a second child comes from my experience being the older one of two kids.

Being a big sister is a part of my identity that I treasure most. Although I’ve never really thought about it this way before, I can see now that what my own parents gave to me in my younger brother Matt was a very personal, very precious gift. You see, being one of two means that you get to become a little kid team. You have someone to travel through childhood with. There’s someone not just to play with, but to navigate the waters of bullying, schoolwork, tough family times and friendship with.

My brother and I have had our share of difficulties, as many adult siblings do, but we inevitably know that we share something that nobody else in the world can share. Our relationship is completely unique.

So my small, rather insignificant piece of advice to share with these loving people is to relax, even during the hard times, when you think you just can’t manage these two busy kids. Relax and revel in the knowledge that you have created not just a couple of little people, but a new relationship, a tie between two people, that can’t be recreated or broken, ever. You haven’t taken something away from your only child…you’ve given him or her a brother or sister to love.