The Dream Me

What kind of person do you want to be? 

I want to be more than one kind of person.  I used to be really good at being fun loving, but somehow I lost that a bit.  As a mother I wish I could be more silly.  However, as a wife and just person in general I wish I could be sophisticated.  Remember a few weeks ago (when Maddie was here) how I went on a date with my husband?  He looked rather sophisticated and I looked, at best, frumpy.  My husband is the kind of man who is not afraid to ask you for what he wants.  However, over time he has learned that in some things you have to be careful and use finesse.  At dinner he said to me, "I wonder what you would look like in a suit."  Immediately, I got the message that he wished I didn't look so frumpy.  I was trying to convince myself that it wasn't that bad.  But I knew he was right.  I tried to think about my other qualities that might make up for it and gave myself excuses about how I was nursing and overweight and postpartum

We left the restaurant and started walking towards our car.  We often meet people we know on the streets of Tirana.  That night we met Genta.  Genta is my husband's cousin's wife.  She, as always, was gorgeous.  She looked so glamorous and I felt SUPER frumpy.  All my former excuses went out the window because Genta had a baby a few months before me and she looked amazing.  I decided I must do something. 

I have been trying a little harder.  It is easier now that I can fit into my nicer clothes.  Now I'm definitely not frumpy, but I am also not yet sophisticated.  I'm working on it.

However, this week two things helped me feel more sophisticated.

As I mentioned, I went to the eye doctor yesterday.  We had to wait for a long time in the waiting room.  When it was our turn my husband and I (and Bumbles) entered his office.  He was sizing us up and speaking Albanian.  I was answering him and he finally figured out I wasn't Albanian.  He said I looked Albanian!  I thought that was a compliment because Albanian women NEVER look frumpy (Okay, most Albanian women).  Then he said something very interesting to my husband.  He said that now he understood why Andi was so calm.  He has noticed that Albanian men who have foreign wives tend to be calmer than Albanian men married to Albanian women.  When Andi was telling me this in the car he said that it was more likely that the men were calm in the first place and that is why foreigners would marry them.  Foreign women wouldn't marry a "crazy" Albanian.  So true!!!!

Then today my MIL wanted to take my kids to City Park (our big mall).  She always wants to buy them something, but she doesn't know what to buy.  She's the grandma - you've got to let grandma's spoil their grandkids.  The only trouble was I didn't want to drive to City Park because I wanted to try to make my tank of gas last for the whole month.  I suggested we take the bus.  They have a free bus to City Park because lots of Albanians don't have cars.  The kids LOVED the idea.  My MIL wasn't nearly as excited, but she wanted to go there and she wanted to make her grandkids happy.  We had a lovely bus ride.  We shopped for the kids.  B.D. picked out a vest as did Super Jack.  Sweets was looking for something to buy, but she didn't find anything.  We were going to check out and try another store when my MIL suggested I get a new sweater.  I was shy about it, but I did pick one out.  She told me I looked, "Shume elegant."  That means "very elegant".  That sure made me feel sophisticated.  What do you think?

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