Rainy Babies and Island Croissants

This adventure inspired my first ever Instagram collage.

Well, it’s day three, and I’ve already missed a day! I did my adventures, but that left no time for writing, and by the time I fell exhausted into bed near midnight and remembered the writing that didn’t happen, I didn’t have it in me to get up and type something quasi-legible.

But here it is. We get up again the next morning and move on.

Yesterday, I had a baby shower to attend in the afternoon. I also had big plans of making my own chai and slow cooking a soup. Rain does that to me. So I decided that my adventure for the day would be a rainy walk to a new-to-me coffee shop, followed by the market at Granville Island, to hunt down the necessary ingredients, and also some organic cotton, sweat-shop-free baby gifts.

I dragged my rain boots out of the trunk of my car and headed for Cafe Bica. Since I don’t actually drink coffee, I base my coffee shop critiques on the following: availability of wifi, tea selection and quality of chocolate croissants. Bica did not disappoint. They have wifi, their peppermint tea was delicious and the giant chocolate croissant fairly melted in my mouth after I peeled away the crispy outer layer (this is the ONLY way to eat a croissant). They also have a tasty-looking selection of organic/local food and a cozy, rustic style that was perfect for sitting inside and watching the rain fall. I’m definitely adding this one to my coffee shop rotation.

Orchids and a pumpkin at Cafe Bica

After tea, I braced myself and headed back out into the rain to Granville Island, where I bought carrots and a leek from the market, spices from South China Seas Trading Co. and Indian black tea from Granville Island Tea Co. I then headed to Parade, where I spent way too long ogling the various tiny items of clothing, and nearly purchased a Greek alphabet block set before settling on a little baby wrap that was way too cute for me to fully appreciate and impulse-buying an owl rattle, because of course.

I thought my adventure had ended there, but I was wrong. I’ve been revising how I define “adventure” this month, and the definition I’m working with right now is “anything that’s kind of uncomfortable”. Thus, a baby shower becomes an adventure.

I love my friends, and therefore I love their kids. And not just because I have to. I genuinely enjoy and appreciate the miniature people my loved ones have produced. But something about sitting in a circle with a bunch of other women, (many of whom I don’t know, many of whom are pregnant or toting their own tiny people around) with no discernible agenda besides eating small things, making small talk along a birth/body parts related to birth theme and possibly playing a few of those games that nobody ever considers playing outside of the baby shower environment (possibly because they’re chosen more for the birth theme than because they’re really even a game) just makes me want to be anywhere else. It’s a mixed feeling when the gift opening starts because having something to focus on is really good (and watching people open gifts is always fun), but then you find yourself making high-pitched cooing sounds over things like tiny washcloths and you being to wonder who the heck you are.

There are just so many motherly hormones floating around, you might as well be actually inside a womb. It kind of feels like you are -warm, cozy and kind of claustrophobic. At one point, a fussy baby found himself the laser-focus of at least a dozen women. Cue more high-pitched cooing.

But in the spirit of adventure, I did my best to embrace the experience.

I think I found a sympathizer in the group and we bitterly asked each other why men never have to endure these sorts of events. In fact a number of the women present expressed a kind of horrified surprise that their “internal clocks” seemed to be kicking in, and at least one was convinced, as I am, that she just doesn’t have one of those.

This, and the opportunity to meet some cool women, combined with my guest-of-honour friend being a very cool person who herself is not quite comfortable at baby showers, made it an adventure worth having. Well, that and the fabric art and cupcakes. Also, the host had THE coolest apartment ever, so I got to practice my Instagram skills.