2005-06-25 - 9:37 p.m. Oh, no! Who'd go and steal a monkey? Accompanied my sister and 2 of my nephews to Hippo Playground for a kid's birthday party. The party itself was held in a dank, sinister room next to the bathrooms, and there was a puppet show that made me sad for the puppetmaster who, despite his best efforts, started losing his audience about 5 minutes in. By the end of his bravura performance, no one was watching and...no one clapped. I would have clapped but I was holding a nine-week-old human in my arms. Meanwhile, unable to just "be here now," ("be there then"?), my mind cycled through every possible thought and emotion that a currently childless person (clinging to every last shred of her post-post-adolescent lifestyle) entertains when encountering a room full of toddlers and their Upper West Side parents. (Hey, if my sister is reading this, I don't mean you!) Boredom, envy, heartache, mild revulsion, khaki-angst, compassion, a few good yuks, and then a general sort of affection for the family of man. The cake was good. thoughts? (3 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact