You've heard the story about practice babies, right? How random kids were plucked from whatever crib or orphanage was handy, and were given to a group of home ec students to raise for a semester? Sure you have. My mom was out of town, and yet she heard of it.
Yeah, well. Maybe my mom was just waiting all these years, waking up and listening to NPR with a long-suppressed wince, wondering if this was going to be The Day. The Day everyone finds out that when she was teaching Home Sciences at Payson High School that spring before she graduated from BYU, she--
It's hard even to type it. Just look at the pictures.
There I am, not a year old, sitting in the sink on Baby Bathing Day, one of at least half a dozen classes where she--where I was-- Oh, look at me, clenching a rag in my gums to quell the agony.
No, never mind, I'm just sucking the bath water out of the washcloth. Drives me nuts when the kid does that, now I know why.
Real Live Practice Babies [plos via dt reader dt]
You will now be known as Greg "Domecon" Allen.
How about we just call him Payhischo?
Aw. Wook at the widdle Gweg Awen! SO cute.
I'm finding it WAY to easy to imagine that cherub in the sink craning his neck to stare wistfully at those minimally designed institutional unfinished plywood cabinets in the background.
Hello, Greg. We are doing a history project on Practice Mothering and we would love to interview with you about your experiences and what you went through in your life after being a practice baby. Email us at louisa0305@gmail.com if you're interested in having a phone interview with us.
Thanks,
Louisa, Simone and Miriam