In the old days, people went to showers with yellow booties and green bibs. Today, you can buy football jerseys and little pink bonnets, 'cause you know the sex.
Kay wanted to buy something for the kid to wear. I followed that woman around the baby store for an hour. She'd hold up a little dress and say, "Oooooh, look at this." She'd put it down and grab a little pair of shoes. "Aren't these adorable!"
There is something about miniature clothes that really set women off. I don't know what it is, and I can live with that.
We ended up getting a stuffed dog. My niece, my choice. The dog was real squishy and had a bell buried in its stomach. It would ding when you grabbed it. That's got to be a charge for a baby.
I named the dog Bosco 'cause it looked like one. I wrote on the card that Bosco was looking for a little girl to help raise. I would've written the name of the little girl, but I didn't know how Shauna was going to spell "Katy." She's settled on the name, but isn't sure of the spelling. Might go with an "ie" or an "i."
Jill wants Shauna to kill the name altogether and go with "Jane." I don't know why. I really have no preference. Then again, it might be nice to name the girl after Mom. You don't see many Elsies out there. Try to figure. Funny how even the oddest of names sounds joyous when given to the right person. "Elsie" is poetry to me.
Oh well, forget the name. Back to the shower. It came off without a hitch. At least, we didn't play any stupid games. That's where Larry, Dennis and I draw the line. We don't do stupid shower games. And, we don't ooh, and ahhh over the gifts and cards when they're passed around. A passed gift stays in our hands for a little under a nanosecond.
"Yeah, it's cute. Any black olives left?"
Uh, except for the dog. I did squeeze the dog a few times. Bosco was cute. Made a little jingle sound when you passed it.
A kid will get, what, three wearings out of a pair of booties? But a stuffed dog just keeps on giving.
"Mom, Bosco doesn't really want to take a nap right now." "Now, Katy Mark, you and Bosco are taking a nap and that's that!" Don't see many Katy Marks. Hey, when a guy goes to a shower, I think he deserves a little something.
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Read Mark Hayter's columns online at the Woodlands Villager.
