Thursday, September 26, 2013

JACKALOPE FRIEND


Can I just start this off by saying I can't believe I've let over a month go by since my last post? First off, I must check my apartment for wormholes and/or rips in the space/time continuum, as I am certain it was still the middle of summer a hot second ago. Time, man. Crazy stuff. I don't want to give the wrong impression: the month of August wasn't me sippin' mojitos by the pool (note to self: that sounds awesome. Find pool. Acquire mojitos). It's just that I took on a handful of long-term projects, two of which have FINALLY wrapped. WOOT. The first is a print version of my portfolio, professionally bound (SQUEEE) and in transit to me AS WE SPEAK (I'll post on that soon ... should be arriving in a mere two days!). The second is a project that is a bit ... atypical for me.

I feel like I should give some background on why this is.


FADE TO: SEPIA TONE IMAGE OF YOUNG CURLY-HAIRED NERD

Just kidding. I have always been awesome. Just ask my mom. Totally cool. However, I've never really been the type that wanted to settle down (at least not immediately). But being from the midwest, this was not always so very common. I've been out of high school for a decade now (Seriously. Not cool, time.) and almost everyone I know from those days have long since married, many now with families and mortgages and all the other adult things that adults have. Adults. 

So while I've spent my twenties pulling caffeine-fueled all-nighters to crank out that last drawing that will totally make my super important presentation that I have IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS - OH GOD, TIME, YOU DEMON-MONSTER, my peers were making tiny humans. And it's not that I don't want a family. I do. It's just that babies are a lot of work. And messy. And loud. And scary. I guess I've just never been that close to kids.

ENTER: LUCY

When my sister told me that she was expecting, I was so excited for her. I knew that she really wanted to start a family, and I was curious what this whole baby thing was all about (some reason, there aren't that many of them in grad school ... must be the lack of nap-time). I couldn't have imagined how enamored I would be with that little girl. She's sweetness and sass, as only a 2 year old can be. But she's also quirky, and oddly tidy, and bossy (just like her momma). She's curious but also a total scaredy cat. She's funny, and silly, and the pickiest human of any size I have ever encountered.

And it's her birthday. What on earth do you get a picky, sassy, silly, angelic little girl who doesn't need anything?

How about a stuffed Jackalope doll with bendy antlers and a fluffy tail? I must say. I nailed it.