La la la la, I can't hear you

We had our 20 year school reunion this weekend and I really enjoyed seeing everyone again. It seems that by the time you reach 20 years, it's more about being happy than it being a competition about financial success.

On the Friday night before the reunion, we all gathered at a friends house to finish the preparations (cutting out the name tags etc) and have a glass or two (except me of course - I'm still the designated driver).

Buster was standing in the kitchen talking to one of the guys we went to school with who was (I think) a year above me - Andrew. He works in a hospital and has trained as a midwife (I'm not sure if he still works as one though). Andrew, by this stage, has had more than three glasses of wine, and Buster is not that far behind him. Anyway, Buster and Andrew are chatting away happily enough and then they start to discuss the impending arrival of Ponyboy.

Some general conversation follows and Andrew begins explaining to Buster how he can check how much my cervix is dilated once labour starts. Buster is desperately trying to interject to explain that he doesn't really want to know this information, but Andrew is determined to share his professional, if inebriated, expertise.

I get distracted by something else for a few mintues, and when I next listen in, all I hear is Buster saying plaintively "can't I just drive to the hospital, I'll just drive her to the hospital, really, it'll be fine, I don't need to do anything expect drive to the hospital".

I think that's the equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears and say "la, la, la, la - I can't hear you".

Differences

With the MonkeyFish about to be a big brother, it's become very interesting to me to see the differences between children depending on their birth order. One of my friends has three boys, the youngest of whom is about the same age as the MonkeyFish. He's active and busy, just like the MonkeyFish, but seems a lot older as he learns tricks from his older brothers.

The MonkeyFish has just started singing along when I sing nursery rhymes like 'Baa, baa black sheep' and 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. My friends little boy, however, has just started singing along too - but he sings along to Beyonce - 'All the single ladies'.

Last time we visited them, I learnt that the eldest boy, when being naughty, puts his fingers in his ears and says 'blah, blah, blah ... I'm not listening to you'. But his youngest brother hasn't quite got it yet - his heart is in it but he's just not quite there.

Blah, blah, blah ... you're not listening to me!!