The Uterus Speaks: Art Prints for a Nursery

"Tomorrow, I'm going to pick out art for a nursery."

Sometimes my uterus talks to me. It's demandingly to-the-point. The only thing it says is "babies!" Of course, muffled through my belly it sounds more like "berbeesh," but I get the message loud and clear. People receive the same message from their parents, their peers, "the media," or the duderus. It's everywhere.

It's easy to shut it up by researching "birth" or listing off personal freedoms I enjoy.

But it can be fun to indulge the poor bastard once in a while. Today's exercise in indulgence takes the form of art prints that would look super cute in a nursery. I recently became a curator for Society6, and it's rekindling my love for the visual arts. Besides prints, they also have pillows and curtains in case that's a better way to decorate my imaginary nursery.

Here are some of my favorite art prints that would work well in a nursery or child's room.

The "First Aid For Stress" series from Growing Mindfulness by Marisa Garau
    

"Morning Contemplation," "Embracing the Majestic," "The Blue Cat and The Blossom," and other hand-painted illustrations by Marion Bouquet
    

Animal illustrations by Allanah Brid. Look at the elephant, right in its face.
    

Tee hee.

"Rain is Bad for Robots," "Sperm Whale Tornado," "When Elephants Dream," and other imagination fuel by David Finley

    

-Jazz Berry Blue. This artist has stylized maps, the American Sign Language alphabet, and other surrealist amazingness as well.

    

I like that most of these collections can grow with the child. And they all make me smile. I don't know how I would choose!

Big Girls Don't Cry: How to Comfort a Crying Friend

"Tomorrow, my friend won't cry."

I'm for living in the moment as much as possible, and I've found that one way to do that is to imagine a future time when your problems don't exist. It's not a goal. It's not pretend. It's acceptance: This thing that sucks right now, it's okay. It's just for now.

Art Prints curated from Society6

One way I've applied this philosophy is in working with toddlers. There's a trick that helps when they're being naughty where you say, "That's okay. When you're 4 you won't color on the walls anymore." Often, the child's desire to be 4 is enough to get them to stop coloring on the walls.

I immediately thought of that when I cried on the phone to Katie yesterday and she said, "That's okay. It's okay to be scared today. Tomorrow, you'll wake up and you'll feel totally refreshed." I had gotten calls from three separate student loan lenders in a row, and by the third call, I threw up my hands and huffed at them to just email me. (It’s very awkward to attempt politeness while huffing, btw.)

I stayed at a high anxiety level all day. I got stuck in Studio City because every time I tried to drive, I'd start crying again. But I had Katie's promise in my head, "Tomorrow's a new day."

I felt great when I woke up this morning, and I attribute it largely to the power of suggestion.

How to Do It Wrong:

1. Apply an unrealistic or shaming timeline for the scope of the problem.

For Toddler: "Big girls pee in the potty. I guess you're still a baby." It’s essentially the same thing as my earlier example, but the language of it is more like, “You should be better RIGHT NOW, you loser.”

For Friend: “Don’t worry, your crippling depression will be all gone in the morning.”

2. Throw cliches at them without addressing the problem.

Calls that it was time to pay back student loans upset me enough to make me cry partly because I had a horrible college experience. Other friends I talked to jumped right to the “Let it go. It’s part of who you are” sayings, and it just made me hate myself. Katie was like, “Yeah, that’s gonna suck to have that reminder every month, but it’s not forever.” Then she gave me advice about loan consolidation. THEN she said the bit about “Tomorrow’s a new day,” when I was ready to hear it.

I don’t cry often. I definitely don’t cry to friends often. But I’m glad I did, because I do feel better. I intend to pay it forward. Much sooner than I'll pay off my student loans.