Reasons to be cheerful!

[Magdalena]

Been waiting a while to post this one,  as it's not totally public yet (so no Facebook comments), but we're  going to be parents Due in October.

Oh, my Asmo!

That's great news! Congratulations!!!

[Firebird]

Congratulations, and how exciting for you both. This will be the first of at least six kids right?

Thanks everyone! Been a roller coaster lately, and that was one reason the recent carbon monoxide leak was especially scary. Luckily she got blood tests immediately afterward and everything was OK. This will be the first grandchild on either side, so it's a pretty big deal. Hopefully we won't screw this up too much!

[Magdalena]

I can feel all your energy, right now! 

Translation: You sound so happy, and excited, and I'm very, very happy for you and your lovely very pregnant wife. 

[Tank]

Congratulations, and how exciting for you both. This will be the first of at least six kids right?

Thanks everyone! Been a roller coaster lately, and that was one reason the recent carbon monoxide leak was especially scary. Luckily she got blood tests immediately afterward and everything was OK. This will be the first grandchild on either side, so it's a pretty big deal. Hopefully we won't screw this up too much!

Get one side of the family to buy little clothes up to a year old and the other side to buy 1 year plus, otherwise you'll never wear all the stuff you get given!

[Claireliontamer]

Congratulations, and how exciting for you both. This will be the first of at least six kids right?

Thanks everyone! Been a roller coaster lately, and that was one reason the recent carbon monoxide leak was especially scary. Luckily she got blood tests immediately afterward and everything was OK. This will be the first grandchild on either side, so it's a pretty big deal. Hopefully we won't screw this up too much!

Get one side of the family to buy little clothes up to a year old and the other side to buy 1 year plus, otherwise you'll never wear all the stuff you get given!

This is good advice but people will still buy you ridiculously impractical baby clothes just because they look cute. 

Whilst we're on this subject, why do babies need pockets in their clothes?

[xSilverPhinx]

Whilst we're on this subject, why do babies need pockets in their clothes?

[Tank]

Whilst we're on this subject, why do babies need pockets in their clothes?

Ah..... Um.....

[Guardian85]

Whilst we're on this subject, why do babies need pockets in their clothes?

Ah..... Um.....

Well..... you see... 

[Buddy]

Whilst we're on this subject, why do babies need pockets in their clothes?

Ah..... Um.....

Well..... you see... 

I've seen baby clothes with pockets bigger than most women's jeans. Ya know, because babies have so much stuff to carry.

[Crow]

I've seen baby clothes with pockets bigger than most women's jeans. Ya know, because babies have so much stuff to carry.

I think that's the point. Like having an extra handbag.

[xSilverPhinx]

How devious, having an extra handbag disguised as a baby's outfit. I like it.

[Magdalena]

How devious, having an extra handbag disguised as a baby's outfit. I like it.

^^^

[Icarus]

I am cheerful because I have a house guest who is from a whole 'nother culture.

Three years ago he subscribed to a forum that concerns boat design, building, operating, etc. I am a senior member there. Justinas sought advice about designing and building a tiny little sailboat.  After numerous posts between us we began to use PMs. About two hundred of them over three years. Somehow I became his mentor and we became virtual friends.

He is 25 years old, lives in Kaunas Lithuania. He has a masters degree in music and he is a spectacularly accomplished classical guitarist. Lithuania is a poor country where the average income is less than 10k per year. He had to be very careful with his boat building budget. Time went by and we arranged to have him visit the U.S. as my guest. I helped with transportation costs which he surprisingly managed  round trip tickets for the whole damned trip for less than $600 US. Amazing.

It has been a pleasant experience for my wife, Elaine, and me. He is a sophisticated and intelligent young man who speaks near perfect English. We rented a junk guitar with which he can make beautiful sounds.  I had no idea how complex an instrument the guitar can be although I have listened to the masters like Sergovia and others.

We have had a helluva good time. He is stoked with my small sailboat which he has spent several hours sailing and enjoying. He leaves to go back home on Wednesday to face another journey of 36 hours. ....Orlando to Boston to Amsterdam to Vilnius Lithuania, and then a bus ride of about 100 kilometers to his home in Kaunas. Plenty of layovers at the various terminals.

Of course we exposed him to all sorts of Americana, like Hooters, Lowes, local live theatre, a visit to Cape Canaveral to see the NASA exhibits, and all that kind of thing. One of the first carefully constructed, polite, questions that he asked was; Why are American women so fat?  Lithuanian women are predominantly slender it seems.

It has been a reason to be cheerful.

[Tank]

That sounds very enjoyable indeed. And why are American women fat?

[Buddy]

That sounds very enjoyable indeed. And why are American women fat?

Actually more American men are overweight than women.