Little Red 'Saurus Socks

For the past two and a half weeks, Atomic and I have been on vacation. It was a lovely, restful, friends-and-family-filled time, first with Atomic's brother & sister-in-law and their two beautiful kids, then a little jaunt to the town where Atomic grew up, and then a crazy festival of artists, culture jammers, and freaks in the middle of nowhere.



That's why I haven't posted much lately. Too much living going on, I guess. But I did come back with a few wonderful stories to tell you.



Here's my favorite:



A couple of our dear friends who attended the event with us are really into dinosaurs. They're not just into dinosaurs; they have a whole 'saurus avatar thing going on. And meticulously hand sewn 'saurus outfits and accessories. No, that's not weird. Or, it wouldn't be if you knew them. It's playful and creative and adds to the sum total of joy in the world. Plus, their saurusy-ness manifests itself in a context of people doing all kinds of creative, bizarre stuff, making art you can touch and interact with and generally letting their freak flags fly. It's a community that has brought much silliness and delight into my life, and I love my 'saurus friends with all my heart.



During this event I was feeling pretty tired and out of it, and a little sad that I didn't have the stamina to really play. One night, my Orange 'Saurus friend came a-knocking on the door of our RV, along with her delightfully goofy Boyfriend-in-Sheep's-Clothing. They were grinning great big grins and giggling, and they said, "We have something for you!"



They handed me a little cellophane package, tied with a bow. Inside was the sweetest little pair of red dinosaur socks.



I burst into tears. "It's too soon! We don't even know if this is going to happen. If something goes wrong the sight of these will break my heart a million times over. I can't . . . I. . . I. . ."



I looked up. They were still grinning.



Another friend, of a different species related to the 'sauruses, said, "This is your talisman. Put it in a safe place."



Then Atomic said, "One way or another, we're going to have a baby eventually. Whether it's this one or some other one, we will have a little red 'saurus in little red 'saurus socks."



I picked up the 'saurus socks again. They're so small. And soft. And they have claws and little foot pads on the bottom. And I thought about our little red 'saurus and the soft, chubby feet that will fill those socks some day.



And then I grinned, too. Still scared, of course, but also joyful, and hopeful.

I can't wait to meet our 'saurus.