Mail Call

Checking the mail can be a bit of a gamble.  Tyler loves checking the mail, always hoping for the best- something exciting addressed directly to him.  Most days, there's nothing in the mail box but advertisements for mortgages, Comcast, and telephone service.  There are also the regular catalogs that arrive, some useful (Crate & Barrel), others not so much (Smith & Noble window coverings, any clothing catalogs since the bump).  We also receive plenty of requests for donations from U of I, Cornell, JCFS, the Autism Society, and any other association to which we have been related in the last 20 years.  A few days each month, bills arrive.  And then there are the surprises, such as this one that arrived today:  

Inside:

Yup, that is a jury summons.  For me.  A summons for jury duty now?  I was extremely relieved to see the date, though- November 4.  Before my due date.  I'll have a doctor's note!  I even called my midwife office to confirm.  Thank goodness!

Some days, atop our mailboxes, there is a nice little package waiting for me (or if it's a big package, it waits patiently on the floor).  Today was one of those days.  I saved the package for after the jury summons in case I needed a pick-me-up.  Mico investigated thoroughly to ensure the safety of the package.

The contents of this package were definitely good.

A soft, plush, warm and cozy new bathrobe!  I've had my old bathrobe for 10 years now.  It's traveled with me to undergrad dorms, the sorority house (where I slept in it most winter nights in the cold dorms, hood up), several apartments, Germany, Ithaca, and Chicago.  The once soft polar fleece is now thin and pilling the high-friction areas (like around the legs, where my lack of consistent shaving some years may have taken its toll).  The occasional rips and tears provide natural ventilation, I suppose.  But really, if there is ever an excuse to invest in a new bathrobe, knowing that plenty of people will see me in it in the hospital and anticipating living in it for several months post-partum are two excellent reasons.  And so, I ordered this, a luxury full-length bathrobe if I've ever seen one.  Waffle-weave cotton on the outside, soft terry on the inside, thick and heavy all around.  It just happened to be on sale, 60% off for Columbus Day at Macy's, which helped when I brought the idea to Tyler's attention.  Actually, he was so excited for me to be rid of the old bathrobe, I don't think he would have blinked at the full price, but I feel better.  (Sorry, Macy's is sold out already- I would have posted the link.  You'll just have to drool with envy when you come over to visit Baby Girl and see me enveloped in a vanilla-colored cloud.)

I anxiously unfolded the robe.  Beautiful!  Slightly overwhelmed by the new-clothes smell, I threw it in the washing machine.  It's now clean and dry and waiting for me on the back of the bathroom door.  Oh, the small luxuries in life.

Is it normal to get this excited for a bathrobe?