Modest, or whatever...

Today I had one of those experiences people are referring to when they say "It's just so...Austin." I went to town to go to a cooking class with my friend Katie Newman (I'm so sad to be making the last round of get-together plans with my Austin friends!) and run some errands that I can't do in Temple...which is pretty much everything except groceries and Wal-Mart. 

One of the tasks on my list was to go by this great baby store for some technical help with my baby sling. My friend Kelly sent me a gorgeous sling (wraparound piece of fabric used to hold the baby hands-free close to your body, for those of you who are uninitiated into the most recent baby trends), but I wasn't quite sure how the baby was supposed to fit in it. The baby store was one of those great, funky Austin businesses- a little bit hippie, a little bit yuppie. For example, not only can you buy cloth diapers there, you can buy used cloth diapers...and at the other end of the spectrum, you can buy a gorgeous $250 European-designed wooden high chair. 

Anyway, they know their stuff about babies, especially baby wearing. The woman was very helpful, showing me how to put on and tighten the sling. She also had her daughter there, who I'd guess was about 2...if you work in a hippie baby store, you should be able to bring your daughter to work, after all. Anyway, she was showing me how the large size was probably best for me, although it left a really long tail in front. But, she said I could bring the tail back across me as a cover-up if I nursed with the baby in the sling, "In case you care about being modest, or whatever." 

I'd say she was firmly a member of the "whatever" camp, because just before that, her daughter had asked for some milk. I was expecting a sippy cup to appear, but no, she sat right down, lifted up her shirt and whipped it out for snack time. Before I realized what was going on and averted my gaze (not that it mattered to anyone but me), I saw that the child received especially speedy service because Mom wasn't wearing a bra to begin with. It's just so...Austin.

And to tell you the truth, I'm really going to miss moments like that. Maybe not that moment specifically, but the experience of being in a city with enough variety that everyone, even a chest-bearing, toddler-breastfeeding saleswoman, has a place to be herself.