Grace In Small Things #15

1) Smooshy infant faces.
At the church nursery, I was put in charge of a four-week-old boy. He slept in his carseat for most of the 1.5 hour service. But every once in a while, bravely fighting the huge gravitational pull of sleep, he'd drag his eyes open and take a peek at the world. As he was drifting in and out of consciousness, emotions flickered across his face. Sometimes he pursed his lips like he was trying to whistle. Other times he'd worry up his almost-bald eyebrows into a frown. I soothed him by rocking his carseat, and was greatly relieved that he didn't wake up and cry. I would have had to call on an experienced mom to deal with the whole properly-supporting-his-head and mind-his-little-fontanelle business.

2) Squirrel boobs.
In High Park I was approached by a Mama Squirrel. She had either recently given birth or was about to, because she was looking rather large around the middle, and also she had a very prominent rack. Normally squirrel boobs aren't noticable, which is why I assume she was nursing. I didn't have any nuts to offer her, nor any squirrel-sized, eight-cupped supportive undergarments. She eventually turned and made her way back up a tree, to where I imagine she had made a her home, complete with a tiny teapot and hand-crocheted tea cozy, a weeny needlepoint sampler on the wall saying "Bless This Home with Nuts", and a four-poster-bed with a patchwork quilt. And six to eight little cribs for her babies, who would be wearing pink or blue bonnets, as the case may be.

3) Fearless birds.
There were many beautiful birds in High Park, including some who were particularly fearless. They were brownish, and larger than the sparrows. They thought nothing of flying right past my face, or settling down to sing on a tree branch within a few feet of me. I could have hung out and watched these birds for hours.

4) My mother, dancing.
My mother turned 65 yesterday. On Sunday evening I went to her house to take care of a few things before we went out for dinner. (She's still afraid to change her printer cartridge by herself, but we're working on it.) I brought a CD I made for her with some of her favourite pop hits from the '80's. She likes Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Joel, and Doug and the Slugs. I put it on and skipped through the tracks so that she could hear what she had. She threw up her hands and shook her hips, dancing in the kitchen while the cats looked on in complete confusion.

5) Best friends.
The woman who was my best friend in grade school is coming to Toronto with her husband and three kids in June. It doesn't matter how long it's been since we've seen each other. It's always like we just spoke yesterday.