Crazy Can't Wait For Tuesday
2006-10-30, 16:10

Socrates himself was particularly pissed - or at least some of the folks at Saturday's Socrates party were, to one degree or another. This was the fourth or fifth event we'd been able to attend, this one up in Willowickoughby.

It was not an event for younglings, so we set Laurana up with her weekly daycare lady, who was luckily available for the evening. I must say, I am very glad that I'm not the one who has to drop her off every weekday morning, because I would be a shambles. Laurana didn't put up a horrible fuss or anything when we dropped her off, but still, it's heartbreaking for me to let her go like that. I still struggle between the need to be out with adults once and a while, and the constant desire to spend every available moment with my child, especially on the weekends where it's just the three of us. I know that being social keeps me sane, so it's better overall, but still, it's not fun. I also know that I'm not the first parent to feel this way, though I sometimes wonder whether I'm an exception rather than a rule when it comes to a father's desire to be present in their child's life. I overhear guys sometimes complaining about how they have to do daily grind things with their little ones, like taking care of them when they're sick or whatever, and it makes me a little nauseous. Are parental (especially fatherly) stereotypes still the prevalent in our society? Do that many people still see having children as a burden? And if so, then why bother? There are certainly already enough children to go around - though we really do need to make more if we're going to properly fund the Baby Boomer generation's retirement. Humph.

Anyway, we went to the Socrates event. It was another good night, if a little shorter than we would have liked. There was a decent striation of people again; we as a group tend to lean left on various issues, but I think that we are, on the whole, basically moderates. We ventured through (among other things) politics, managed to stay off religion somehow, dabbled in our collective perception of time, and - as is usual - devolved into sex topics. That area actually had some debatable validity this time, starting with the moral (and practical) applications of polyamory, and finishing (at least when we left) with a discussion on whether cybersex was considered cheating. I think the general consensus was that it is cheating, but I don't think that it's an all-or-nothing, yes-or-no issue. As someone who, many years ago (back in the day when the biggest downer was when your ISP bumped you for no reason and downloading the latest version of AOL took the better part of a day), did it himself (and was quite good, if I do say so), I don't have a problem with the concept, as long as: a) it's not habitual; b) it's not personal; and c) it's not preferred over one's significant other. In other words, as long as you're not going to the IRC lines at any available moment, you're not establishing a relationship with anyone beyond the level of, say, a jogging partner, and you're not ignoring your real life partner to do it, it's not a serious issue. Let's face it, cybersex has never and could never replace the real thing, but (for those in need) when the cat's away...

We were definitely the winners in the 'best non-dessert food item' category, bringing along a bucketful of pad thai that was at just the right amount of spicy. Winner in the dessert category was the couple who brought along the caramel apple trifle. So good. And what Socrates event would be complete without duffiemoon and husband's Jew Box of Chocolate? L'Chaim!

We had a decidedly less cerebral day on Sunday, and that was all well and good. We had a nice, slow post-time-change morning with Laurana, and we headed up to Olmstead Falls to sell off a box of books at Half Price Books (ten bucks for one box - score!), do a little pajama shopping at Babies R Us and visit with our friend McG (not the director) for a while. We ended up at a pumpkin farm, where McG picked out a couple of beauties and we got ourselves a nice bag of McIntosh apples and a gallon of fresh cider.

I think we did a poor job of compensating for Laurana's adjustment to turning the clock back, because getting through Babies R Us was something of a trial. She wasn't a screaming monster, just slap happy and running in circles. It makes it a tad bit harder to measure up how clothes will fit when you're working with a moving target. At one point she even snagged my wallet without us noticing and started pulling things out of it while sitting on a couch near the portrait studio (where she started making friends with a three-year-old dressed as Snow White for a Halloween shoot - reaffirming that we've instilled some functional social skills in her). But she was, if rambunctious, typically sweet and cute. I think she really enjoys her only-child time with Mama and Dada. I think I do, too.

We didn't get any pumpkins lanternify this year, mainly because the Boy and Girl are at their dad's for Halloween this year, and Laurana's to young too appreciate the process. We'll get our stinky toasted pumpkin seeds next month when we gut a few small ones for pie making. There's always next year to make a Trogdor jack-o-lantern.

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