January 2, 2015 by Amy

Veruca Salt and bacon jam

I had two things on the calendar today, and as of this morning I didn’t want to do either of them. Mainly because they involved a.) getting off the couch and b.) putting on a bra. I honestly don’t now which I was dreading more.

The first item of business was taking Zoe to the American Girl store. This always sounds better when I offer it, and excrutiating when it comes time to go. Last year, we went on January 1 and the store was jammed to the gills with girls and the adults who love them. The brand releases its new “Girl of the Year” on January 1, which is pretty much just an excuse to sell more dolls. Thankfully, this year it wasn’t nearly as packed. Plus, I was smart and left my coat in the car. Not overheating ten minutes in is key to survival. We wandered the store and Zoe got her fill. Once there, I get over myself and do enjoy watching her soak it all up. She’s very pragmatic, and has a plan in mind before we cross the threshold. We checked out the new girl and her clothes, accessories, set, pet, etc. and then weaved through the store. Zoe had scoured the catalogs and knew exactly what she wanted. She shops like I do: with purpose and decisiveness. We made our selections and headed to the cashier, where I soon realized we were behind a real, live Veruca Salt. Holy cow. Zoe was, thankfully, oblivious. She was too busy checking out the stuff they have piled up at point-of-sale to encourage last-minute upsells. I was intrigued. Here was a child who ordered her mother, grandmother, and little brother around like they were servants. She had a doll in a carrier strapped to her back, and her arms (and the arms of her servants) were filled with boxes. Her snotty attitude and demands were met with placid acceptance by those in her party, and I was simultanously amused to watch and eternally grateful that my daughter couldn’t have been more different. Zoe stood there quietly, clutching her boxes and gazing around wide-eyed, after having asked politely, “Please, Mommy, can we get this?” Veruca curled her lip and pointed her stubby child fingers around and showed not an ounce of appreciation for her circumstances. Amazing.

Tonight, we had a New Years Day party at friends of ours. It would have been so easy to blow it off, to stay on the couch. We determined that it was probably best that we go, so we did, and I’m so glad. Not only did we get to catch up with friends, we got to eat food like lamb meatballs, sausage stuffed mushroom caps, dill pickles wrapped in cream cheese and salami, and…wait for it…bacon jam. So much for eating healthy. We had such a good time that I’m crazy grateful I got over my lazy self, got cleaned up, and went. I need to remember to do that more often.

In an attempt to actually sleep tonight, I avoided all caffeine today and have consumed three Trazadone. I’ve been using one per night with good results, although I didn’t take any last night due to getting to bed so late. I guess I should have anyway. Tonight: no chances. I will sleep.

So, to recap: my kid is awesome, bacon jam is awesome, and sleep is imminent. Not a bad way to start 2015.