Because this is the first day in recent history that work is slow AND I don’t have a tech night to be prepping for, I want to tell you this very weird and surreal even that took place last night.  And even more so, I want you to tell me that I’m being weird and surreal about something that just ISN’T.

I’ll start with Saturday.  Saturday, I was carrying the Binja in his baby-sling-carrier-thingie as we marched down to Five Points when Bryan’s cell phone rang.  It was Nanny, The Boy’s grandmother on his BioMom’s side.  She called.. just to chat.  Which I thought was weird.  And she kept asking about my son.  Which I thought was even weirder.

Now, I will say that Nanny is very sweet.  She came to the hospital to see the new baby, she has offered to babysit several times, and she’s a very good grandmother to The Boy.

But I thought that was odd.

So last night, we go to take The Boy back to BioMom and we find out that she’s at a family member’s house.  We head that way, and as Bryan and The Boy approach the front door, Nanny appears.  I see her talk to Bryan for a second, and Bryan gestures to the car.  Here comes Nanny. 

I crack the door, thinking she just wants to say hi.

“They want to see the baby,” she said, reaching inside.

Um.  Okay.  So I was taken aback by this and didn’t really know what to say.  We head in, me shooting Bryan a glance and him returning a glance of “I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA”.

Once inside, all of these people that I’ve never met before start coming over to coo over my baby.  They want to know all of this stuff about him.. how much he weighs, is he eating well, how much sleep is he getting a night.. all of which I’d have felt much more comfortable telling a complete stranger, much less my husband’s exwife’s family.

Then, to top off all that is weird in this story, they want to take pictures of him.  Someone produces a camera and they’re all like, “OH!  LET’S GET SOME PICTURES OF THIS BABY!” and I’m starting to get itchy like maybe one of them has snuck off to slash our tires and prevent us from leaving.  Like maybe they need his virgin flesh for a sacrifice later.  Or maybe they wanted to steal his soul through photography.

In an effort to make it less weird, Bryan suggests that, you know, maybe The Boy should get in some of those pictures, since he IS actually their flesh and blood.  That maybe the picture taking would be more justifiable if someone they’re related to is in them, rather than the new wife’s spawn.

Of course, before we leave, they all offer to babysit.  Overnight.  Or a weekend. 

Now, again, I think this is all very sweet.  But it strikes me as very odd that any of this happened.  It was a very surreal feeling of “I was never supposed to be in this house or meet these people”.   And I tried not to feel this way, but I felt the need to be protective of my child, as if they were trying to claim him as their own.

Admittedly, the alternative could be so much worse, and I know that.  That family could hate me and detest my son and fuel horrible sibling-rivalry by bad mouthing us to The Boy.  And they don’t; for that, I’m eternally grateful.  But still.

.. just felt very, very weird.