What Kind of Garden Are You Coming From?

Daisy: What kind of a garden do you come from?
Alice: Oh, I don't come from any garden.
Daisy: Do you suppose she's a wildflower?


(CLICK ON THIS PICTURE TO SEE A KICK ASS VIDEO OF ALICE AND THE FLOWERS)

There are two ways many of my friends could take this quote.
One way-- to say I shouldn't quote Alice in Wonderland because I am not one of it's avid fans. I shouldn't desecrate this oh so holy (maybe hole-y... get it Alice falls down a hole) territory.
Another way-- We love that you quoted, now we should watch this movie.

I watched this movie when I was little and I did enjoy it. I enjoyed Alice In Wonderland the live action movie much more. The Disney Channel used to show this and it was so bad that it was GOOD.
It was one of the movies that my sister, Erin, and I used to sit and watch for hours. Another (totally cheesey) movie we'd do this to and my Grandma would allow was Anne of Green Gables. The PBS miniseries... BANGIN'!


All of this Alice talk makes me want to watch the films again. I'm sure I would like them on a
completely different level now, maybe more than one.

I am writing about Alice today* because this is the name of Sarah and Jay's baby, born today*; Alice Katherine Carlander.

I think it's a kick ass name. There are plenty of Alice's out there, but I think it's not an everyday name and it's also a definite name. I mean that it seems like a girl who likes adventure, independence, who's intelligent and a beauty.

I went with Julia and Jay to meet little Alice and Sarah. She was adorable. She looks like her big sister, but has her own aura. It was definitely an extraordinary experience going to the hospital. I was in the, coined, "happy section" of the hospital, but I couldn't overlook the strange paradoxes of life and death being so close to one another.
It was an adventure of sorts to see a newborn and my former professor/friend/employer/mentor/editor/ etc. in a very once-in-a-lifetime type of moment. I couldn't do anything but smile.
When I was waiting, however, it was a different story.
Jay and Julia went into the room to have "nuclear family" time and Julia's first meeting w/ Alice. I stayed in the hallway. I took note of the nurses, the cleaning man, the shiny floors, the kitsch paintings, the wall paper and the gargantuan building around me. I hate hospitals.
I admire the work that nurses do because they are doing something I could never do. They are there in shifts, get paid less than doctors and do more than doctors. I don't like M.D.'s. I think the professionalization of medicine has given them a feeling of hierarchy that they don't always deserve, well that and big Pharma...but that's a whole different blog.
I have only been to hospitals for good things about 5 times. This was number 5 and I need two hands to count the bad visits.
I don't like disease or death. I'm not a big fan of pregnancy...though I like babies. It all freaks me out.
I think you can be "TOO clean" and a hospital is a place that is just that. I like the ideals of saving people, just not the ideas or actions... they are gross and I don't want to go beyond that.

Idea--^

Ideal--^

All in all, today was a great day and eventful. Julia and I lived up the last day of "single child-ness" with scones, yellow pasta and Charlotte's Web. We met a new member of their family and danced to ABBA. SPEAKING OF ABBA!!!!... I said to Julia today "Julia, just wait until you can see Mama Mia!" Then sang, "Mama Mia..." to which Julia sang, "Here I go again!"

Here is a video.




I jumped, grabbed her into my arms and yelled "you're the smartest kid in the world!"
Yep. Just became one of those people for a hot second. The moment was glorious.

Well it appears when I hold off on the blog, I have a lot to release. Please leave some comments on how this one read. Thanks! :)

* Today is referring to 2/4/09... I finished the blog on 2/5/09