Stood-Up

Today Matt and I got stood-up by the plumbers. Apparently they were swamped all day and had to call and reschedule for tomorrow. It's no biggie since we have the other bathroom that we can use, so I didn't really mind.

Emmaline got her shots today-all SIX of them: two in each leg and one for each arm. OUCH! I felt so sorry for her. And of course she started crying LONG before the nurse even got close to her with the needles. She is just NOT a people person. But after the torture session involving needles and the "scary" man nurse were over, she was perfectly happy again and had a fun day playing as usual.

I always love going to the Health & Human Services Department here in Austin because you ALWAYS see such interesting people there. It's so nice living in such a diverse city. Seriously, I think I saw every major ethnicity represented there today. Most of the kiddos and parents are there for one of two things: the Shots for Tots clinics or WIC appointments. The place is packed with people (and when I say packed, I mean PACKED. I had to park down the street and walk to the HHSD building because all the spaces were filled in their lot!). But it's always nice to see all the children interacting with each other and their parents. Even Emmaline enjoyed all the people watching.

But the interesting people aren't just the children and parents waiting in the lobby, it's the staff too! Usually the ladies at the reception desk are very sweet and efficient and are in your typical scrub attire. But every time I have taken Emmaline to get her shots, we get the NICEST man as our nurse. He's always very friendly and thorough. But seriously, he is a total hippie! He has a long white beard, wears cute glasses that sit on the tip of his nose and is ALWAYS dressed in a tye-dye teeshirt and holey jeans! One time (when we were there in June) they were even cut-off jean shorts! It is HILARIOUS to me because you would never see a nurse who gives shots at a government run clinic in tye-dye tees and jeans EXCEPT in Austin.

And here, no one bats an eye. It's part of what makes Austin distinctively Austin, and I love it! Sure, the traffic can get bad and the summers can be brutal, but everyday I find more and more reasons why so many people love to live here and say they wouldn't want to move anywhere else.

And at least for now, I agree with them.