ChiKat

My son does not sleep well. He is almost 5 months old, and he does not sleep for more than three hours at night. I am very tired. I am also very tired of talking about it. Lots of loving and supportive family members want to know how he's doing, but there are only so many ways I can say, "Fantastic…oh, except for sleeping."

I get a lot of advice. He's not sleeping because of my diet. Or because he isn't wearing the right pajamas. Or because I'm using the wrong laundry detergent. But the advice always gets back to my diet. I need to stop eating (choose any that apply): dairy, onions, tomatoes, all vegetables, hot peppers, Mexican food, Indian food and/or Italian food.

Ugh.

The whole diet things drives me a little insane, since I've already been on an extreme restricted diet and I know how hard it is. When people nonchalantly tell me to cut something out of my diet to see if it helps, I want to beat my head against the wall because it's not that easy. It takes awhile for food to get out of your system, and you're trying to decide is one change in a highly varied diet has an impact on a screaming infant.

Then again, I haven't slept in four ½ months, so eating just oatmeal for a month is starting to sound better and better.

My husband has a job offer that he is 99% sure he is going to accept. Phew! It's a good job offer. It's at a place that is not as prestigious as his current location, but it is a much better work environment. It's close enough so we won't have to move, which is awesome. We're really comfortable in our little condo right now, so I'm glad we can be here for a few more years.

His old job ended July 31. The new one starts September 3. Having a month off really rocks (which is one of the reasons you have seen so little of me in the past few weeks).

With our free time, we've been exploring the city and visiting family. For me, it's been so nice to have him at home when the baby is freaking out. Our son isn't the most laid back child on the planet, and he still hasn't figured out how to sleep through the night. I'm pretty tired, but being able to hand him off to my husband makes the schedule so much more tolerable.

We're busy planning a vacation during our free month, along with exploring the city. My husband's been so busy the last two years - it's awesome to finally have time with him to enjoy life.

Twice now my husband and I have had the strange experience of having an African-American apologize to us for the behavior of another African-American. The first time we were walking along and noticed two men yelling at each other. One of them seemed pretty drunk and was swearing a lot. We didn’t pay much attention as we passed them, but a few minutes later, the other man caught up with us and said, "I'm so sorry you had to see that. It's n******s like that who give us a bad name."

My husband and I didn't really know how to respond. Being from white suburbia, and then Seattle, I can honestly say I have never actually heard someone use n***** in conversation. In movies or in music is one thing, but having someone say that on the street was pretty surprising. We murmured something vague and moved along.

The second time we were walking along when a black man stumbled into us while asking us for change. Afterwards, a black woman approached us and told us not to judge the community based on "the trash you just saw".

Again, we weren't sure how to respond. It was such a strange situation. There are a lot of trashy white people, but I've never felt like I should apologize for a white person's behavior…except maybe the President's.

When I first moved here, I was convinced every car alarm was my car being stolen. Every bang was a gunshot. Every thump was someone breaking in.

I just realized that I left my balcony door open for the last three hours. My purse and laptop were within two feet of the open door.

I guess I'm much more comfortable here than I was a couple years ago.

Having said that, I'll probably be mugged tomorrow.

[My apologies – this post is really Southside-centric]

MP also wrote, "…don't move into the black neighborhood if you are going to be scared or uncomfortable"

MP, I agree with you, but I still struggle with that part. When we moved here, I did my best to feel as comfortable as possible. I went to neighborhood meetings, I checked out local stores, I explored as much as possible.

For the most part I was rewarded. There are only a few restaurants here, but some of them are really great. I will weep when I can't shop at the local produce store anymore. I love my mechanic, even if I have to hike 15 blocks south to reach him.

But I'm still not brave enough to shop along 63rd. Will I be as comfortable at Daley's as I am at the French bakery? Daley's used to be Irish-owned! It's one of the oldest restaurants in the city! But I still haven't been brave enough to try it. You tell me – am I missing out?


PS
MP -- Thanks for your comment! It really got me thinking about life here.