I wrote an excellent sentence today.

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Baby in her hat, to cheer me.
Just one excellent sentence, I think, though I wrote a lot of really-quite-good sentences.

The baby woke up at five this morning, and indicated she thought this was a good time to begin the morning, which wasn't very nice. I fed her, and while I sat feeding her, ideas for the essay I've been working on ricocheted off the inside of my head. I worried they would leave me before I had a chance to catch them.

I changed the baby's diaper, put her in an outfit and a hat that matched. A hat to cheer me up about the early morning. We played with her toys and practiced her tricks and I read her two chapters of Frog and Toad, a book that makes her kick her legs and squeal with delight, which is sort of the effect it has on her father and me. Once we were done reading, she started to twist and fuss and indicated that maybe I was right after all, maybe this was too early for the morning. So I took her downstairs and put her in her swing, and I began trying to catch the tail of those writing ideas.

And then I wrote a lot of really-quite-good sentences. And then I wrote an excellent sentence.

The essay is about my great grandparents, and the sentence is about marriage and divorce and omelets, and it made me remember how good it feels, to get it right. I'm sick today. A cold incoming, and some weird business in response to the antibiotics I took for mastitis. The baby has been sleeping terribly in general at night, so my body is heavy and sloggy and sad, and my house is in a state most unbecoming of a visit from my mother-in-law, who is flying into town this afternoon.

But I wrote an excellent sentence! So the world feels shiny and delicious. It flung its arms out and shimmied and gave me jazz hands, the world did. And I love that feeling. 

I wish for you the same, today. I wish for you something you really love. I wish for you a good solid shimmy from the world.

Comments

Jamie said…
Do you think they make that hat in my size?
February 28, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Rachel Goldberg said…
hooray for you on the excellent sentence! I am sure it will be the harbinger of many more. On a totally different note, I swear by Culturelle probiotics and supplements of lecithin while nursing. The lecithin keeps the milk ducts "slippery," as my OB said, so clogs don't happen, and the probiotics help your tummy in the wake of the antibiotics that you needed to combat mastitis! I took both throughout my 18 mos. of nursing with Molly and they made a huge difference. Whole Foods has them. GL!
February 28, 2013 at 12:59 PM
Deja said…
jamie, it's thrifted, so i'll totally be on the lookout for one for you.

rachel, i got your email right as i got home from whole foods to pick up probiotics! thanks for the tip. i'm hoping they'll help. i've felt nauseous for days, and i think that's what's causing it. that, or i'm pregnant, which would be both impossible and terrifying. ;)
February 28, 2013 at 2:03 PM
ginger said…
Oh good. I was coming running to say probiotics!
March 1, 2013 at 9:25 AM
Giuli said…
I never had mastitis with my kiddos, but with kizzie I had a HORRIBLE cut on my nipple that would not heal and caused me agonizing pain every time she ate. I was about to throw in the towel when my friend told me about APNO ointment that you have to get specially made from one of those dispenseries, not a pharmacy. I don't know what's in that stuff, but it was a miracle. I will never write off hippy organic herbal type remidies again!
March 1, 2013 at 10:53 AM
Amara said…
.."So the world feels shiny and delicious. It flung its arms out and shimmied and gave me jazz hands, the world did. And I love that feeling." I love those sentences! Keep her in the hats so she's used to them as a toddler. Otherwise they never leave them on and it's a bummer. I love little kids in hats.
March 1, 2013 at 11:18 AM
Elise said…
Ooh. Pass some of that magic my way, please?
March 2, 2013 at 11:49 AM
belann said…
So glad for the excellent sentence. Can't wait to read the finished product. HP looks adorable in the hat.
March 2, 2013 at 8:09 PM
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