What will the neighbors say?

The other night, Mark and I were both up with Nathan in the middle of the night. He was so restless, crying, fussy, and both of us were walking around a little dazed and confused and at our wit's end trying to figure out what else to do with this unhappy baby. I had the bright idea that I was going to try to go back to sleep while Mark sat with him for a little while. But in our little apartment there was no getting away from the crying. I got back up, and Mark was headed out the door with Nathan. It was about 4 in the morning. A hundred questions were going through my head, but I was so out of it by that point I didn't even ask. I honestly thought he was going to just go sit in the car with Nathan.

A little while later, I heard the door unlock, and here comes Mark pushing Nathan (who was bright-eyed and very happy) in the stroller. I was relieved to know that they hadn't been just sitting in the car because I kept thinking, "What will the neighbors say if they see them in the car like that?" Then Mark explained this story to me . . .

As soon as he got Nathan outside he immediately stopped crying. Mark remembered that the stroller was in the trunk of the car, so he decided to stroll him around the neighborhood for a little while. (Remember: 4 AM) He noticed some older women sitting on the balcony eating breakfast (they eat before sunrise because of their fasting right now). Then he saw how quickly they all popped up out of their seats to watch this man pushing a stroller around the street in the middle of the night. So much for the relief I felt when I realized they hadn't been sitting in the car. Now the neighbors had even better ammunition - we had our baby in the cold night air! And what would they have thought if they had seen he was only wearing a onesie with no pants, socks, or blanket?!

Somehow we finally managed to get him back to sleep, and amazingly, I've heard no whispers of the crazy foreigners who take their baby out for a stroll in the middle of the night! Of course, I can imagine that some of those women watching Mark have done some even stranger things to get a baby to sleep! Oh, to hear the stories they could tell!!!