Bring on the Shower

Last night I met with my daughter Tara's mother-in-law so we could discuss the baby shower planned for Saturday. We had a lovely dinner and when the listing of to do's was compared and delivered we settled in for a nice walk down memory lane to talk about our two children who are to become proud parents in November. Both Tara and Chris were the ideal babies... hardly ever crying or fussing, and as both grew to be toddlers they were loving and kind to their younger siblings. We both know they will be terrific parents. I'm very glad that this shower is not a surprise because I needed Tara's advice on what cake to order, what appetizers to prepare... I've become a bit of a scatterbrain lately (though the truth be told, I've never been a great organizer of events.) So, after my motherly inquiry this morning I was off and running to get my errands done. There were plates and tableware to buy, I was making good headway at Cosco until I realized that the cake I thought I would order only had buttercream frosting, and Tara doesn't like it. Luckily I had my new cell phone, and was able to call her at work to get permission for an alternate cake combo.. frosting should go with the cake and the filling is important too. I ordered my shrimp party platter, after establishing (with Tara) that pregnant women can eat shrimp... no sushi, shellfish, raw lettuce, cold cuts, soft cheeses... the list goes on... I wonder how my kids survived, there were no rules back then. If you ate or drank something wrong you got sick... end of story. As I stood in line at Cosco going over my next set of errands, I saw a woman about my age talking to a little cherub faced girl who sat in her basket. She was obviously a grandma, as I would soon be, and suddenly my eyes filled with tears and I had an emotional moment. I tried to distract myself by thinking of Gerry's humorous comment to me when we visit Cosco on Saturday's... Wen, do you want your usual dozen churros? knowing full well that I don't eat fried, doughy, sweet food. It didn't work, and the tears rolled down my face while I thought of my beautiful baby girl all grown up and ready for motherhood. I feigned a yawn and quickly wiped my face. Next stop, Babies R Us to check the progress of her registry... I'm a nosy bird. All was well as there were only a few pages of non-essential items left (my gift was already thought of well in advance), but it took me 20 minutes to choose an appropriate gift bag for my gift... decisions, decisions. Then it was off to buy wine, and since I am not a wine drinker and have no clue what ladies sip at the noonday hour... that took 20 minutes to decide as well. That done, I raced in my little redwing car to the card store and spent another 20 minutes searching for the perfect card, while avoiding anything laced with too much sentiment... I'll write my own when I could let loose some tears at home. As I headed home a terrible thought hit me... the greeting on the ordered cake, I was not sure of the spelling of my Grandbaby's name. I know her middle name will be the same as Tara's and my own... Lee, and I was so thrilled about that I never inquired as to the spelling of the first name. How could I find out without calling my daughter and probably frustrating her with yet another inquiry, especially one I should have known. Think... and then it hit me. Chris is on Facebook, and I was hoping in his excitement for the upcoming event there might be mention of the name I knew so well. Bingo... it was there on his wall for all the world to see. Annabel... the most beautiful name to me right now. I headed back to Cosco to change the spelling on the order... as I spelled it as Annabelle. Perhaps, it was a sub-conscious message as Tara's nickname has always been 'Beauty' and 'Belle' means the same thing in French. My deed corrected, I am now prepared for my role at the shower and I hope I can attend without an over-emotional cloudburst of tears... joyful, sentimental, tears..., if not... well it's not called a shower for nothing.