Freebies

I was buying last night’s dinner from the neighborhood butcher when I turned around and saw Hans. “What am I having for dinner? Turkey schnitzel, rosti, and broccoli. And you? That also sounds good.” After exchanging these pleasantries, I walked away. “I notice you’re limping a bit,” called the voice after me. “ Yes, I guess I overdid it at the gym last week. You know the damage five minutes of running on the treadmill can do to one’s knees,” I responded a bit sardonically. To his puzzled look, I explained that perhaps my joints were still a bit weak from my recent pregnancy. You know, from the hormones still loitering around in my body. After a couple moments of pondering that, he said, with all the seriousness he could muster: “Now, that’s just one of the freebies you got along with your baby, isn’t it?” That made my day. Once I knew to look for them, I saw other “freebies” baby Paige brought along as her own little offering:

Extreme hair loss when I stopped breastfeeding her. I’d been thinking about a saucy new hairdo.

Orneriness. Isn’t that such a funny word? Now I get ample opportunity to use it!

A “soft” body. Who wants to cuddle up to a tight, muscular body anyway?

Lack of sleep. Eh. You’ll get enough sleep when you die.