SWEET LIKE HONEY

The other night Brandon came to me with a serious face.  "We are just about out of soap," he said somberly.

Don't ask me why but it has somehow fallen to Brandon to replace the soap in the shower. I never meant for it to happen, but there it is. It is one of his jobs, like walking the dogs, or putting the iron back where it belongs way up on the top shelf of the cupboard. Or cursing a million times while cutting Petey's hair. Jobs are important in a marriage, don't you think? For instance, one of my jobs is the procuring of household items. And now we are all caught up.

Later that night after everybody was in bed, I grabbed my midnight shower. And I realized he was right. Our soap situation was in distress. So I grabbed for Henrydiddle's baby wash instead.

As soon as that bottle was open and the honey smell escaped I started to miss my buddy. Oh, me and Hank, these days we are pals. He is hysterical lately, laughing at things that are actually funny and scrunching his face up at mashed bananas and tensing his entire body in delight when I put on the YouTubes so Mickey can invite us over to his clubhouse.

Some nights after he is asleep I go over the day we had and feel like I didn't have enough time to properly chew on Henry August's cheeks.

Standing there in the shower that night smelling my baby, I thought about how neat it was that--as it turns out--I like him as a person! I like him hard. Luckily, I am pretty sure he likes me back. And then I remembered what my dad told me one night over the phone when Henry was brand new and I was in a mess of tears because my baby was already three days old and time was going too fast and I was never going to get those first days back.

"Natalie!" he said, "Natalie, that boy is going to grow up! And talk! And he is going to be so much fun! The best part isn't even here yet!"

At the time it made me even sadder (hormones schmormones), but today I can say it: Dad, you were right.

This gets better every stinking day.