I realized something in Bremen. I've never been around babies. I've done the whole babysitting thing, I think...maybe once. In any case, I've been around enough 5 year olds and older to know what kind of mess that is. Babies and toddlers are another story.
I liked them at first. No I'm kidding. I liked them the whole time, but it's easy to drop your guard and get all sweet when they're smiling and speaking their language, which in this case was only one half German with Nona. The second day in Bremen was something new for me. I went around the city...wait for it...with a baby attached to my stomach. No, not with glue, but I don't know what the device is called. It includes pulleys, clicky things, and back strength. I felt proud. I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to be a father yet - not for a long time - but I think I'll like it when I am. I enjoyed imagining that people misunderstood me as a young father. Nala slept the entire time. It's a weird feeling to have a baby rub it's face in your chest for a good few minutes. Nona ate a burger by herself. We all celebrated.
BUT DON'T RELAX. I did. We got back to the appartment after relaxingly strolling through the city. Nadja had spent the majority of the day painting their living room again and moving objects around that were five times her size. Did I mention she had a cold? Come about 8 at night she started feeling worse. In a matter of a couple of hours she had a temperature of about 40 degrees Celcius, or about 104. Bad news. Tom handled it like a pro. He fetched the dampened towls, he called the doctor, he read the nighttime story to Nona. What did I do? I carried, cradled, and burped Nala. I even played her a song or two on the guitar and sang her songs from Disney's Robin Hood. I thought to myself, "I can do this. Look at me."
WRONG. The doctor came and all hell broke loose, well at least for me. Tom was calm the whole time. Nona woke up and cried for her mom, who was incapable of coming. Nala couldn't go to sleep because she had something weird going on in the stomach. Long story short: very little sleep. Every 10 seconds of silence I prayed it would remain so. I mean, a kid can only cry so much, right? Even an adult has only so much fluid, right? Sooner or later someone's gotta pass out. Well it turns out it wasn't gunna be the toddler. I fetched the last bottle of warm milk as Tom finally got some rest, and sleep followed.
Tom admited mit upon waking up that he hadn't had such a bad night in a while. I felt justified in my awe and fear. The next two days didn't consist of much tourist fun, but instead a healthy dose of a young family. Tom and I played guitar and chess with each other a lot, him being much better than me in both cases. Saturday we all went to the flea market next to the Weser river; me and the whole family. I was weak. I found Westerns in book form AND German form. I'm talking a book about Doc Holiday and Billy the Kid. 1 Euro. I found an Avatar: the Last Airbender Trading Card Starter Set. 3 Euros and eternal happiness. No I won't say something was priceless. You want it, but I won't give it to you. It cost me money. Here: Happiness = cheap.
The kids and Nadja went back home, and Tom hung around with me in the city until I had to catch the train. We sat down next to the river to drink a beer in the sun. We shared the table with a couple our age. Tom fetched our drinks, and so did the boyfriend. His pretty girlfriend was sitting next to me. I pulled out my newly bought treasures and went straigt to the most important one: my trading cards. I showed them to her and said: "Vom Flohmarkt" (from the flea market). She immediately, without hesitation, scooted over in her curiosity and we started talking. The guys came back and we spent the next hour chatting over our drinks and my cards and my Westerns. How easy it is to meet friendly people. I think I'll remember the feeling that gave me before the feeling from and pretty city.
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