17 Months with the Goosefish

The Goose turned 17 months on Sunday. She got her second ear infection this past month, a diagnosis that pairs nicely with four molars simultaneously poking through. Her angel doctor (and mother to three) even proclaimed that this was "a bit aggressive". To say sleep has been touch and go would be an understatement. What day is it again?

I had my own birthday this month—a big ole 39. One more year, then I'm going to splurge on custom orthotics and some nice hair dye. I still get the “no way!” looks when people see my ID, so between retinol and a sprinkle of botox, I’m surely doing something right. Still, there are grays scattering across my head; a few now sit boldly on top, gleaming in the sunlight as if to say, “no, she is.” When I found my first three little grays at the ripe age of 33, I named them after my ex-boyfriends. That followed with spicy coworkers, then spicier clients. But boy howdy, did that gray count really ramp up in the past 17 months. And I thank my lucky stars every single day that she’s probably the culprit.

We scaled back on spending this month like good little millennials who want to buy a nice house (Denver houses aren’t free, turns out). So as our DoorDash collects dust, fancy gym memberships pause, and we’ve bumped down a shelf at the liquor store, Rainie seems entirely unbothered that even our margaritas taste frugal. She finds joy in the simple things. It’s astounding how little toddlers need in a world where Amazon boxes exist—and even cutting back on their frequency doesn’t faze her. She needs only one Amazon box, secondhand clothes, pricey food, childcare, and ski lessons, sure sure—but the point is, in this bloated world of subscriptions and bells and whistles, she needs very little to enjoy herself just fine. We’re the problem. Well, me (oopsy).

The past few weeks, I’ve been taking her to the park with Tim’s 14-year-old DSLR camera. Are the photos less impressive than a COVID-era iPhone? Probably. But there’s something adventurous about chasing down your feral toddler and snapping shots with a big ole vintage camera.

Happy 17 months to the baby!