Sick AGAIN

This first year of day care is going to fucking kill me.  Henry and I were both sick over the weekend, I got better, but he's still coughing and blowing snot over everything anywhere near him.  I hate having my schedule get all out of whack, but what can you do?  (Well, I guess you can take them to day care even though they're sick, which seems to be what other parents do).  I really wish I could just pay them for the days he's there.

On the up side, he was in a pretty good mood despite feeling crappy.  We had some fun times, listened to some music.  He's very into the Beastie Boys and AC/DC.  I'll do a lot of things for my child, but I just can't listen to the Wiggles or whatever babies are supposed to listen to these days.  He seems to get irritated by stuff that's too bouncy anyway.  When I was pregnant, I listened to a Tim Barry CD nonstop for about the last three months.   Even now, whenever I play one of his songs, Henry will stop, turn towards the music, and listen for a bit.  Kind of amazing that they can remember that.

The feeling you get that you're going to have to assimilate into some sort of parent culture once you have a kid has always bugged me.  Ben and I aren't big fans of mainstream media or social gatherings where games are played and songs sung, so I figured most of the kids' TV and Mommy and Me stuff was going to be out.  Sooner or later Henry's going to go see his dad's punk band play and wonder about songs like "Octogenarian Love Affair".  Maybe he'll like having oddball parents. Maybe I'm delusional and he'll be totally embarrassed and turn out Republican or something to rebel.

But there's just so much out there now that's just crap.  I was home on leave during a beast of a summer-it was too hot to do anything but sit at home with a newborn.  Watched a lot of TV.  Realized that there is a general theme, and it's "If You Act Like a Total Moron or Are a Horrible Person, We Will Put You on a Show."  I don't even get how people can enjoy watching that sort of thing.  It's the worst segment of American culture and those people are being rewarded for their behavior.  What's worse is that people look up to them, and imitate them.  And popular music is just sad, manufactured and lame.  Every genre sounds exactly the same.  So Henry and I will continue to rock out to NOFX, Atmosphere, Neko Case (ok, you really don't "rock out" to Neko Case as much as you...I don't know, contemplate things), Tim Barry, and Drive-By Truckers, and I'll hope that it has some influence on him.

All I know is that this kid ever goes out of the house in a sleeveless t-shirt and/or gets a fake tan, or expects a thousand dollar wardrobe, or gets some girl teen pregnant, we're going to have problems.