On June 26, my second nephew, Aiden River Zoutendam, was born!
On June 23, my brother called me in Sioux Falls, saying, Melissa (my sister in law) is getting uncomfortable, could you come and watch Finley (my 2 year old nephew)?
Sure! I exclaimed from the garden I was weeding outside my solo apartment, then I studied for my class and slept in peace.
I arrived in Cedar Rapids on the 24th to Melissa ready to go to a doctor's appointment. We couldn't figure out how to get the car seat strapped into my car, so I handed off my keys, tore a screaming Finley from her arms, brought him into the house, and locked the door. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he unlocked the door and ran out, almost reaching the driveway "Mommy!!" before I caught him. Securely in my arms, we went inside where, luckily, bubbles were on hand. Finley saw that he could only blow the bubbles when not screaming, so, eventually bubbles won. Bubbles and the neighborhood park made us fast friends.
On June 25, we went pre- baby shopping. In one maternity store, displays of five different reusable diaper systems were on hand. Melissa, exhausted, was sitting in a chair in a corner, trying to keep Finley from tasting the organic sunscreen. I began asking David, "So, you know I wanted to get you guys something for the baby, have you thought about reusable diapers?" "We thought about it, but we didn't have the time and energy to do it" came his reply. "Could I get you guys a few and see if you like them?" what were they to do... ? So I happily listened to the sales pitch and figured out what a bare bones starter pack would mean and we got a few.


The day before I left, Finley and I passed a neighbor's house with several new toys next to their trash on the edge of the lawn. I stopped and looked. Several glistening toy trucks (Finley's favorite) tempted me, and I put them in my car. Under the piles of toys there were four child sized cabinets. I dropped off Finley and the first load at home, then rushed back for a second, and a third. The neighbors' door was open, their screen door was shut, behind it, they watched me brazenly dumpster dive. Later, while washing the toys, I counted 14 trucks, one boat, one marble works set, one car ramp and two battery operated learning toys. After David came home and I showed him the toys, we laughed about his dumpster diving days in high school. One summer, he found two sleds and a grill. He couldn't fit them into his old Buick Skylark, so he tied them behind it with rope. I guess when Santa Clause comes on trash day in July, you are part of this family.
That night, we watched Frozen together and David and Melissa gave me a thank you card. They thanked me for my time and help and dumpster diving. No one mentioned the reusable diapers.
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