These things happen

Trying to explain what's been happening in our lives as of late is somewhat akin to explaining the color red. Its not possible to talk about something one can only experience. But I'll do my best. Aside from not sleeping well and having dreams about whale-sized Emperor Penguins swimming in rivers at amusement parks (and yes, I did actually watch Billy Madison, a few days ago, which is probably entirely responsible for the dream; but I digress) things have been the same sort of busy blandness that envelopes suburban life. Mini vans, shopping centers, Starbucks and Target, fenced in yards and coy politeness. That's life. Sometimes we create false realities in order to make the mundaneness survivable. For instance.... Sonya and I went away for a quiet, elegant and peaceful weekend a few weeks ago to celebrate her birthday and Valentines Day. We went to the luxurious Cincinnatian Hotel , enjoyed dinner on (well, near) the river, sleeping in on Saturday morning, with a quiet walk on a snowy day to our favorite breakfast spot -- all while the kids enjoyed some time with grandmom and granddad. Later that week we did a dinner with some friends from church at a great Mexican restaurant in West Chester. We dropped the kids off at the church office for free "sitting" and proceeded to have a great time (which means Margaritas). All the couples there had 3 (or more) kids, and talked of the difficulty of that 3rd child, and the unwritten law that parents are to say how easy it was, blah blah blah. Last week sometime Sonya complained about ... a body area in the chest region ... being tender and sore. Immediately my somewhat tired and bored mind put the 3 above equations (night in a hotel away from kids, couples talking about 3rd child, and sore boobs) into a grand foretelling of the future. I thought for sure, we were having a 3rd child. Usually I'd be pretty calm and just let that time of the month come and go and await the results. But there is a wrinkle. Sonya does not have health insurance (and hasn't for years). Immediately I pressed her to start calling brokers and getting quotes (not merely because I feared she was pregnant, but she's 35 and can't put it off forever). Being the brilliant man I am, I didn't bother to tell Sonya my foreordained glimpse into the future, but bottled Calvinistically deep inside myself (into a heart pounding, sleepless, restless ball of pent up stress). Well, wonder no more my friends, we're not expecting another child (confirmed this weekend). And Sonya is in process of being added to our current family health plan. And Sonya had a great big laugh when I told her yesterday. The lesson? Boredom is never a good thing.