Sprinkle, Sprinkle

We just got back from spending a week in Alberta -- the land of our youth. I had a business trip that took me through three different cities (Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge), and R flew out to spend most of the time in Calgary, where her family lives. The timing was impeccable:
- early enough that R could still fly
- late enough that R could have a baby shower
- same weekend as R's sister's birthday

We bought R's plane ticket somewhat impulsively on Valentine's Day (because there was a sale), so there was not a lot of warning that we were coming (a month). Still, R's sisters, mother and sister-in-law put together a fantastic baby shower:
- small enough to mainly include a comfortable group of friends
- casual enough to be a drop-in event
- organized enough to be fun
- relaxed enough to keep R from playing a lot of awkward/embarrassing games
- cauliflower enough to last for weeks (thanks to me)

The point about playing games is an important one. You see, there are people who like to play games, and then there are people who don't like to play games. Within each of these groups there are extremes - the people who love/hate games. R and I stand at the extremes: I love games and she hates them. For a long time, I could not understand her distaste for games, thinking she was just a party-pooper. With time, it has made more sense to me.

As it turns out, there are lots of people out there who hate games. Many of them go along with the group and play, despite their deep loathing. R does not. She is very strong-willed. Her family understands this very well, and took it into account when planning the shower. Instead of games to put her on the spot, there was a simple icebreaker, followed by a few presentations and things done by R's sisters and sister-in-law. R hardly had to do anything awkward or embarrassing, and she thought it was perfect.

There was a lot of food, including a veggie platter heaped with cauliflower. I was responsible for cutting up the fruit and the veggies for the snack platters. I cut up everything I was given, without asking questions. Perhaps I should have asked about the cauliflower, because there was quite a lot of it. You almost couldn't see any of the other vegetables on account of the cauliflower. We ate it at every meal for the next few days.

After it was all said and done, R had opened quite a fine assortment of baby clothes and other items. Thanks to all those who were there. I wonder if we'll have to buy any clothes for the baby, with all the generous gifts and loans that we've been given so far. On second thought, with what I've heard about the messes babies make, we'll probably need plenty more.

...especially kimonos.