Contents May Cause Queasiness

Our family went out for a night on the town last Friday. We were going to socialize with other students from the history department during Happy Hour at a local bar, so Hubry suggested grabbing a pizza for dinner before hand. We rode the bus, for fun and to avoid downtown parking chaos, and got to the restaurant only to discover that the one highchair was already being used. Our adventurous 15-month old doesn't sit still for long, so dinner was reduced to eating standing up, and eventually eating as we walked to Happy Hour. We were a sight - with our wide open pizza box and the singing Songbird on back.

Happy Hour was fun, and though we didn't end up ordering drinks, we had the left-over pizza (*some of which mysteriously disappeared) and the most outgoing little Songbird of all. It was a great turn out from the history department, and Songbird made sure to greet every person in the bar, shaking hands and giving kisses as she felt led. As it got closer and closer to bedtime, Songbird grew more and more weary of "containment," so we eventually said our goodbyes and headed out to catch the bus home.

Anyone who's familiar with a sleepy toddler knows that emotions can quickly escalate. We were on the bus headed back towards Graduate Family Housing along with some 15 other passengers. Everyone was in their own world, surprisingly chatting through my daughter's protests. All of a sudden, in a moment of panic, she started trying to swallow her hand. We told her this was not appropriate, and things seemed to settle down for a few quiet moments. Songbird was in Hubry's lap, and I was holding the pizza box and staring wistfully out the window.

The moment was broken with a horrifying look from my daughter followed by a spew of projectile vomit. Before I could gather my composure and take action I selfishly thought, well, at least the throw-up was confined to Hubry's pants and Songbird's dress... But it was a hasty thought, for the after throw-up sent several more spews soaking my skirt, the back of the seat in front of us, and the floor beneath us.

I was soooo happy that we had an entire container of wipes in the diaper bag. I quickly began pulling out wipe after wipe and cleaning up clothes, leather, rubber, seat, floor... I looked around in astonishment to see that no one was paying us any attention. Could such a scene possibly go unnoticed? How could they have avoided her show - if nothing else, did the smell not catch their attention?

We quickly came upon our stop, stood up as normally as possible (considering we were half wet and putrid smelling), and left the bus with a smile. Songbird smiled, too, waving at the bus as we walked away. When we got home, it was showers and laundry and prayers...and later gut-wrenching laughter.