A couple of days ago, I turned on the faucet in the morning and saw, to my horror, the water pressure was all wonky.
My head filled with thoughts of having to find a plumber in a new city, and expensive invoices, and depleted savings accounts … and then we looked at Facebook and realized it was because a water main here in Lewiston had broken.
So we didn’t have to do anything to fix the problem, other than pay our monthly water and sewer bill. I’ve never had town water before and the thrill hasn’t worn off yet, even if the shower smells a little like a pool if I’m in there too long.
Imagine! Water that comes out of the tap even if there’s a power outage! The 24-hour boil water order was annoying for us, but fortunately, Sonny is mostly breastfed and there wasn’t a boil Victoria order (much to the consternation of some of my readers, I am sure). I drink almost nothing but seltzer water anyway. Finally, one of my bad habits came in handy.
I haven’t been able to get out much and enjoy Lewiston — taking a 5-month-old anywhere is a full theatrical production with ushers and intermission — but dogs make you get out and walk around the neighborhood. During the one random warm day we had last week, everyone came out of their caves. Kids were riding their bikes in the street. It was a beautiful preview of what I hope Sonny’s childhood will be.
Sonny himself seemed mostly confused that the air was warm. I think it was the first time in his life he’d experienced warmth outside. But no time to get used to it because it went right back to cold and snowstorms (of course).
The neighbors all seem nice, although I have noticed every time I go out to walk the dogs with the baby strapped to my chest (great for weight training!) someone always waves at me and says wow, I must have my hands full. And it’s a different person every time. No repeats so far. Makes me wonder if there was maybe a meeting I missed?
My dogs, of course, have their own way of introducing themselves to people — or, in Janey’s case, not. If she had her way I would never talk to anyone or even get within 20 feet of them. (Remember social distancing? Janey was a fan.) I tell people she’s being protective of the baby, and maybe she is a bit, but mostly she’s just a jerk.
Meanwhile, Karma is not normally an escape artist but sometimes she hears the call of the wild. The other day she surged through the open front door (a failure of our airlock system) and sprinted down the street at 60 mph … for exactly 15 feet, directly into the neighbor’s driveway. Fortunately this woman is a dog person, so her reaction to seeing an unfamiliar 50-pound bulldog mix charging at her was to drop to her knees and open her arms wide. Karma went right in for a hug and some face licks. She’s pretty easy to catch. I don’t generally recommend this method for meeting your new neighbors but it’s very efficient.
While I’m working from home, Karma has also assigned herself a job as lookout. She keeps an eye out the window and I have yet to figure out her threat assessment protocol. A single person walking by? Danger. Mega suspicious. Two people walking by is fine, though. Small dogs and the husky from down the block are no problem but elderly Labrador retrievers?
Defcon 5, possible Russian spies. Janey, who is a bit more trigger happy when it comes to barking, can’t actually see out the window in the office (she would have to get up onto an ottoman parked under the window and unfortunately, she is too fat).
Speaking of dogs, I’ve also recently managed to Pavlov dog myself. (My wife insists this should be referred to as “classical conditioning” but I can never remember that phrase). As the baby’s night wakeups continue to be chaotic, I’ve started eating a handful of Oreos every time I get up. (My lactation consultant says it helps with milk supply.)
Now when the baby monitor goes off at 3 a.m., instead of initially thinking “Lord God, are you punishing me for the sins of my past and if so when will my penance be complete” now I just think “Ooh!…. Oreo time.” It’s great for my mental health but if I keep it up soon I’ll be having trouble on the stairs just like Janey. The magic of motherhood.