The Baby Shower
I go through phases like everybody else. Lately, I’ve been leaning in to Chopin. In his music, they used to say, one could hear “the whisper of the clouds, or the murmur of the stars.”
Trust me, I could listen to a star murmur all night long. Sure beats the dog snoring.
Margaret Atwood wrote that winter is the time “to eat fat and watch hockey.” She seemed especially smitten with the common french fry, as we all are. The best phases last a lifetime. FYI, when I love something, it lasts forever.
Oh, don’t sigh. It’s kind of a curse, actually. My heart wears handcuffs.
Most recently, I seem to have fallen for the semi-sport of curling, which runs for hours, in some sort of Olympic loop.
Love the intensity of the players, as they release that big doorstop down the ice …the focus, as if they are about to chisel-whack an expensive diamond.
Curling is a game of finesse, like mending a bird’s wing, or making an omelette. The average fry cook or columnist could do it.
I’ve threatened to take “Miss Suzie,” as the grandkids call her, to curling lessons in Panorama City, where they teach the sport to beginners.
At first, she seemed meh over the idea. Then, as with the rest of the worldwide audience, curling began to intrigue her. I suspect she will love curling forever — or till closing weekend, whichever comes first.
Miss Suzie is coming off a triumph of her own, the baby shower for her middle child. Like her mother, Claire tilts her head when she smiles. For a moment: Chopin.
Of course, the baby shower was lovely, as winter sports go. The setting was sensational, the weather held out, 40 or so guests showed up showered, shaved and spritzed. Handsome crowd too. Like extras in a Nancy Meyers flick.
Claire glowed, as preggy mothers always do. Lloyd, the preggy dad, did too.
By the way, have you noticed what a great generation of young fathers we’re seeing? It threatens to knock the cynicism right out of me (don’t fear, I have a plenty).
Honestly, this generation of fathers might be the best of all time. They didn’t win a world war, or bring on the computer age — they left that to their dads and grandpas.
What makes them special, though — possibly The Greatest Generation of Fathers — is the way they relate to their kids.
They have embraced fatherhood with total passion. I see it in my sons-in-law, I see it in other young dudes, mostly in their 30s, who wear a baby on their shoulders with pride and joy, who gladly race off to change a diaper, warm a bottle, start the nightly bath.
I mean, our generation did too. But today’s young dads have taken fatherhood to the next level. It’s like they’ve discovered life’s secret sauce.
Honestly, if you want to add passion or purpose to your life, there’s nothing grander than a baby.
Listen, parenthood will always have an imbalance, the mothers bearing the brunt of it. But these guys have really stepped up. In return, all they’ll get is the most-profound experiences they’ll ever have.
So there’s that to look forward to.
Meanwhile, Miss Suzie and I replay the highlights of the baby shower for a day or two after. Didn’t Claire look happy? Weren’t Lloyd and his mother terrific … Todd and Tracey…Kelly and MaryLou…Lynda, Nick, Blaine?
At one point, I tell Suzie that I would love to hear the other guests’ post-party reactions — what they said on the drive home, what they all ruminated about later over dinner.
Were the drinks cold, the food memorable? Did the party have a playfulness, a vibe? Were the speeches witty and warm? Did we, collectively, all 40 of us, manage to make a memory?
In a glum world, on that wintry L.A. afternoon, did this baby shower offer us a sunny spot in our lives?
I think you know.
Coming at you once again on behalf of the Erskine Family Compassion Fund, which honors my late wife and son. The donations help struggling families across Los Angeles, providing everything from blankets to financial support. Any amount helps. Click here to donate. If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to LCPC Parent Ed, and send to LCPC Parent Ed, 626 Foothill Boulevard, La Canada, CA 91011. Thank you in advance. There are many good causes; this is just one of them. If you have any problems with the donation site, please email me at letters@ChrisErskineLA.com
Caption: Claire, bottom right; Lloyd, in white shirt directly above her.
Coming Saturday: Visiting L.A.’s winter wonderland.
