the nesting instinct - 2012.03.25


Why are men reluctant to become fathers? They aren't through being children.
~ Cindy Garner


The wife and I had purchased a crib about two months back at a baby fair, and finally it was delivered a week ago.  





We had picked an oak-ish, rosewood-ish sort of tint for the crib (when i was younger, i had to deal with just eight colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, black, and white.  things really get complicated when you're an adult.  nobody ever describes something as just brown or yellow.  it's always some funky, strange sounding thing, like tangerine or wengue.) because white was too clinical, and "natural" looked like someone had assembled the crib but completely forgot to paint it.

 

so wengue it was, and it did turn out out to be a good choice.  the crib was a pleasant rich red-oakish color and after a few hiccups (one of the crib's locks were broken), which our supplier, (Bobo House if you are curious), gladly and quickly fixed, it was up and ready.


my wife nurtures a healthy amount of paranoia, more than enough for the both of us, and it quite reliably kicked in at this point.  she turned to me and said, "this crib must be full of germs and dirt and bacteria.  would you mind disinfecting it please?"

and so i ended up spending  the better part of the morning cleaning and wiping and disinfecting it, to my wife's satisfaction. 

after an hour of scrubbing and wiping and disinfecting, finally i was done and my wife (who was watching the whole time lest i sneak off and do something actually worth doing, like finishing call of duty a second time) let out a happy little squeal when it was all done.



 


i can of course, smell a photo op and a blog entry from a mile away and so immediately whipped out my camera and began taking pictures.  with my wife's approval of course (she thinks this is an excellent way to document our experience; i think with a few more posts like this, i can muster enough justification for a new lens). 


indeed the crib turned out to be a good buy after all (it had better be: we managed to buy the crib only after beating back a frenzied horde of singapore shoppers made rabid after they caught the scent of a sale) and getting it ready was a fun experience.

of course, after it was all done, i had to make sure that the crib was ready and sturdy enough and i had enlisted the help of a couple friends testing it.




 tigger went first and he bounced happily onto the crib (they've got springs for tails and legs you know).  he gave a chuckle and an excited laugh which i took for his approval.  he then bounded merrily away, saying "Well, I gotta go now. I've got a lotta bouncin' to do! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! T-T-F-N: ta-ta for now!"




eeyore ambled in next, looking glum and blue and sat down miserably.  i asked him what was wrong, and he said he had lost his tail.  after looking around for a bit, we found it tucked quietly in a corner of the house.  i took it and gave it to him and he said "thanks.  it's not much of a tail, but i'm sort of attached to it."  he smiled a bit as he wandered off, and said that the crib was not bad because at least it had not fallen over as he sat on it.



then came piglet, excited, and a little scared.  he was worried that he was too small and could not reach up into the crib.  i helped him up and over and into the crib and he sat down for a bit, looked around, smiled and relaxed.  then he spoke, and sort of squeaked when he did, "I think that I have just remembered something. I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday and shan't be able to do tomorrow. So I suppose I really ought to go back and do it now." he thanked me for helping him, and then ran off.


finally came pooh, my favorite silly old bear.  he said "sorry i am late, i was out looking for hunny."  i assured him it was okay, and he sat down and looked around.  he too smiled and whispered and said "I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me."

so, using very short words, he told me what he thought of the crib: that it was good, and that it was ready.  he also told me not to worry because things have a way of falling into place at the right time.

with that the silly old bear got up and was ready to leave.  i gave him some hunny to keep him company on his way home and he smiled and thanked me for it.

and just like that they were off and i waved goodbye to pooh and his friends, and thanked them for assuring me that i had done good.


*some quotes taken from AA Milne's Winnie the pooh

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