The baby shower weekend was a resounding success. My menu of baby-sized foods went over well, people had a good time, and I was mortified by everything that came out of my mother�s mouth. Let�s not even talk about her new perm. I wasn�t nice, but when backed into a corner, I come out swinging.

In other news, my pregnant sister�s doing great. Granted I had a healthy hangover, but even with her bum hip, she was shopping me into the ground.

I had my second discussion of sex and birth control with my little sister�the first coming when she was a freshman in college and having her boyfriend come stay for the weekend, while Mom was out of town. At the time, my mother refused to broach the subject, because she knew they were �good, Christian kids,� so I had to step up and tell her about the services available at Planned Parenthood, etc. Again, another reason I don�t need to have kids�I�ve already struggled with raising a teenager. But now she�s off her shots while other health issues are worked out, and I got to hear how her husband feels about being responsible for protection. Maybe she�s more mature than I am now, but I still think of her as 12, so it�s just dreadful.

Later my older sister unloaded on me that she�s always felt like she can�t please anyone in the family, particularly our father and the coordinating grandmother, which she feels is my fault. I, she pointed out, have always been quick to pick on her or to jump on the bandwagon when she�s being harassed. I think that�s clearly a middle child defense mechanism, but it�s also indicative of my charmingly bitter sense of humor. I�m not sure either her husband or the little sister was comfortable with that discussion.

It was nice to come home to an affectionate Fuzzy/Pants and to make plans for a Monday off.

Here�s a tip�if you want to keep Kate out of your house, make a slick spot on the road, so when she tries to turn into your drive, she slides right on past. Heh heh.

Yes, yesterday the Kate came over to play. In all these years since college, she�d never seen my abode, and she�d never met my Pants, so it was high time. We then came into town to dine, to shop for souvenirs and to dine. So lovely. We made plans and things.

After she left, I happened to catch Oprah. Okay, I deliberately flipped over, but just to check it out. Don�t you judge me for my Oprah tendencies. Wasn�t I a good, socially responsible girl last week?

Her guest was that Po Bronson fellow, and the show was all about figuring out what you want to do with your life. To inspire us, she brought on people who�d realized they were doing the wrong things, people who dropped everything to go for a dream. Who were they? Well, there was a former lawyer, a former rocket scientist, a former Hollywood screenwriter, etc. Nice stories, but Oprah, where was the former publishing professional who was struggling with school, car, and credit card debt, yet still made a change? The one who was forced to live off credit cards for years to supplement her meager salary, then paid the price? Why wasn�t she there? Maybe because she didn�t have the luxury of quickly saving up a bunch of money to tide her over until her dream job proves profitable? It�s nice that Oprah wants us to go for our dreams. I guess it�s not a good story to interview a marketing professional who had plans and was going to make a big change 2 years ago, until her car broke down, her child got sick, and she had to max out her credit cards and empty her savings to take care of things.

That�s neither here nor there, but I think it�s fair.

But there�s this: I got a gift at the baby shower, too, from one of the happy couple�s fabulous friends. It�s the episode of CMT�s Crossroads with Ryan Adams and Elton John on CD. Ryan�s surprisingly nice and polite. Elton is charming. They sing each other�s songs. They sing old country songs.

The version of "Sweet Carolina" is lovely.