Next week is my last week of work for the foreseeable future. As it is, I have only been working one or two days a week for the last few months, but being completely done with employment altogether is different—and crazy! Although I will miss the people that I work with, the fact that next Friday is my last day is a really good thing for multiple reasons:
For starters, I am out of professional clothing that both fits me and is seasonally appropriate. Even one of my pairs of maternity pants that I can wear to work (I only have two pairs) has gotten pretty darn uncomfortable on my belly.
Second, it is getting rather difficult to sit still for at least an hour and a half commute each direction, even if it is only one to two days a week.
Third, the number of times that I wake up to use the bathroom every night and then the effort it takes to get comfortable again afterwards make getting up for good at six o’clock less than fun.
Fourth, I still have so much to do before the baby comes and I only have two months left! Not having to go to work at all anymore will leave more time and energy for the nesting I discussed with you a couple of weeks ago. My first two months of stay-at-home-mommyhood will consist of not actually mothering, but preparing.
Fifth, having a little person wiggling and squirming around under my skin while I’m sitting at my computer trying to work is extremely distracting! (In the very best of possible ways, of course).
Sixth, it is also extremely distracting to simply have the knowledge that there is a little person with me as I sit there, just growing and getting ready to come out. I am so anxious! Every day it gets worse—I just can’t wait until the day when I will finally be able to meet my baby and hold him or her in my arms instead of in my abdomen…
Nine more weeks!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Happy Easter!
Having been married almost eleven months now, Daniel and I have now reached the milestone of our last first holiday together and have entered the liturgical season in which we were married last year. So crazy! Daniel had his spring break from work this past week, which was shortened because of all the snow days the county used this year. If it hadn’t been cut down, we could have gotten a lot more done on our before-baby-comes-to-do-list, but we were still able to use the time off to our advantage.
Daniel finished building, painted, and then hung new shutters on our house with the help of his parents; they cleared out brush from the back of our property and tore out the ugly bushes that surrounded our deck; my dad came over to install crown and base moulding in our bedroom; and Daniel and I painted and put together a new armoire-type piece of furniture for our bedroom re-using three older pieces (a desk that had belonged to Daniel’s parents, a dresser that had belonged to my parents, and an entertainment center that had belonged to my grandparents). There is still so much to be done, but we’re getting there!
Daniel and I decided against going to the Easter Vigil mass this year because I didn’t think I would make it through the whole thing without falling asleep, so we went to the eight a.m. mass instead. Who knows how many years it will be before we feel up to going to the Vigil again—I certainly won’t want to bring a ten month old to the two and a half hour liturgy, as much as I love it. We had both Easter brunch and dinner at my parents’ house, which were delicious of course. Who doesn’t love a good spiral baked ham (other than two of my siblings, who substituted leftover meatloaf, and I guess plenty of other people, too)?
Happy Easter season, everyone!
Daniel finished building, painted, and then hung new shutters on our house with the help of his parents; they cleared out brush from the back of our property and tore out the ugly bushes that surrounded our deck; my dad came over to install crown and base moulding in our bedroom; and Daniel and I painted and put together a new armoire-type piece of furniture for our bedroom re-using three older pieces (a desk that had belonged to Daniel’s parents, a dresser that had belonged to my parents, and an entertainment center that had belonged to my grandparents). There is still so much to be done, but we’re getting there!
Daniel and I decided against going to the Easter Vigil mass this year because I didn’t think I would make it through the whole thing without falling asleep, so we went to the eight a.m. mass instead. Who knows how many years it will be before we feel up to going to the Vigil again—I certainly won’t want to bring a ten month old to the two and a half hour liturgy, as much as I love it. We had both Easter brunch and dinner at my parents’ house, which were delicious of course. Who doesn’t love a good spiral baked ham (other than two of my siblings, who substituted leftover meatloaf, and I guess plenty of other people, too)?
Happy Easter season, everyone!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Nesting
I am 29 weeks pregnant and I am definitely doing what a lot of people would call “nesting.” I don’t know whether it’s “instinct” exactly, but just like anyone wants to straighten their home before visitors arrive, I want to be ready for a guest that’s going to be arriving late this spring, taking up all of my time and attention, and staying for a couple of decades.
It’s a matter of knowing that in my whole life is about to change in ways that I won’t be able to completely understand until after it’s already happened, and I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be. This means a lot of things.
It’s looking at the screen door to my back porch that I have never once cleaned in the 20 months that I’ve owned the house and seeing all the dirt shoved into crevices that I never noticed before and thinking, “It would really be nice to have that clean before the baby comes,” for the simple reason that I have no idea when I might have the opportunity or inclination to clean it later.
It’s finally emptying the backpack that was somehow never cleaned out after graduation from college almost two years ago because I found it shoved in the closet of the soon-to-be-nursery.
It’s suddenly caring that the dishes get washed and the stove gets wiped down every night before I go to bed because I’m trying to get out of the habit of letting little things pile up and become big things.
It’s getting down on my hands and knees to look under cabinets and other furniture trying to think like a crawling eight month old as I add task after task to our “projects to finish before June” list.
As a new father, Daniel could be seen as “nesting” too—although he doesn’t have it quite as bad as I do, so maybe a little bit of instinct is involved for mothers. And some of what I worry about may be a bit over the top… But whether it’s instinct or just plain smart, or a nice combination of both, it’s good to be ready.
It’s a matter of knowing that in my whole life is about to change in ways that I won’t be able to completely understand until after it’s already happened, and I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be. This means a lot of things.
It’s looking at the screen door to my back porch that I have never once cleaned in the 20 months that I’ve owned the house and seeing all the dirt shoved into crevices that I never noticed before and thinking, “It would really be nice to have that clean before the baby comes,” for the simple reason that I have no idea when I might have the opportunity or inclination to clean it later.
It’s finally emptying the backpack that was somehow never cleaned out after graduation from college almost two years ago because I found it shoved in the closet of the soon-to-be-nursery.
It’s suddenly caring that the dishes get washed and the stove gets wiped down every night before I go to bed because I’m trying to get out of the habit of letting little things pile up and become big things.
It’s getting down on my hands and knees to look under cabinets and other furniture trying to think like a crawling eight month old as I add task after task to our “projects to finish before June” list.
As a new father, Daniel could be seen as “nesting” too—although he doesn’t have it quite as bad as I do, so maybe a little bit of instinct is involved for mothers. And some of what I worry about may be a bit over the top… But whether it’s instinct or just plain smart, or a nice combination of both, it’s good to be ready.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring Is Almost Here
The glucose test wasn’t so terrible after all. The orange drink, while it wouldn’t be my beverage of choice, really wasn’t bad. The doctor suspected this to be because I have a sweet tooth, which is in fact very true. And the blood test hurt just like any other blood test, which I knew it would so I was not worried about it to begin with. The rest of my appointment went well, too, and my next couple of appointments will just be quick checkups.
Here in Maryland, it is really starting to feel like spring! Today I sat outside on my deck in the 75 degree sunshine to read and eat my lunch (and hopefully soak up some Vitamin D), and it was perfectly wonderful. In just a few days the first day of spring will be here, and as the weather slowly gets warmer I’m getting closer and closer to meeting my baby. He or she will arrive before summer does. This summer is going to be very different from every other summer of my life—I can’t wait!
There is plenty remaining to be done around the house before the baby comes, though. The nursery is still a storage and project room, and there are several other projects that Daniel and I hope to finish in these last few pre-baby months, which will give us plenty to keep busy. Not to mention those unexpected projects that continue to crop up which are not on our list at all.
For example, part of this beautiful springy weekend will be spent (at least for Daniel) replacing several shingles on our roof which were blown off during a rainstorm last week. What fun! I, of course, will be spending that time standing out on the deck watching him, as though the strength of my stare could be enough to keep him from falling off the roof. Really, though, our roof is not at all steep. I shouldn’t need to worry.
Now for one last thing that I just thought I’d share that is rather random—this Saturday morning I will be going to a big yard sale with my friend Laura, the first of many I will be searching this spring I’m sure, and my quest is to find good children’s books to start our library. First of all, I love bargains. Second of all, I love books. And third, I love a good quest! (All three of these things I get from my mom) Wish me luck; I’m so excited!
Here in Maryland, it is really starting to feel like spring! Today I sat outside on my deck in the 75 degree sunshine to read and eat my lunch (and hopefully soak up some Vitamin D), and it was perfectly wonderful. In just a few days the first day of spring will be here, and as the weather slowly gets warmer I’m getting closer and closer to meeting my baby. He or she will arrive before summer does. This summer is going to be very different from every other summer of my life—I can’t wait!
There is plenty remaining to be done around the house before the baby comes, though. The nursery is still a storage and project room, and there are several other projects that Daniel and I hope to finish in these last few pre-baby months, which will give us plenty to keep busy. Not to mention those unexpected projects that continue to crop up which are not on our list at all.
For example, part of this beautiful springy weekend will be spent (at least for Daniel) replacing several shingles on our roof which were blown off during a rainstorm last week. What fun! I, of course, will be spending that time standing out on the deck watching him, as though the strength of my stare could be enough to keep him from falling off the roof. Really, though, our roof is not at all steep. I shouldn’t need to worry.
Now for one last thing that I just thought I’d share that is rather random—this Saturday morning I will be going to a big yard sale with my friend Laura, the first of many I will be searching this spring I’m sure, and my quest is to find good children’s books to start our library. First of all, I love bargains. Second of all, I love books. And third, I love a good quest! (All three of these things I get from my mom) Wish me luck; I’m so excited!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Home Again
So, we made it home from Alabama safely and without any further damage, thank God! Of course, I guess we would have to be extremely unlucky to have a problem on both legs of the trip (or be extremely bad drivers).
At the rehearsal dinner last Friday, Daniel and his cousin Michael dressed up as Lloyd and Harry from the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” which they all love. Daniel was in the orange tuxedo and Michael was in the blue, with matching top hats and canes, which they used to swordfight into the party as they made their entrance. This was a surprise for John (Daniel had received approval from the bride, Katherine, beforehand), and as far as I could tell it was quite a hit—and of course entirely unexpected by nearly all of the guests.
As the wife of the best man, and family, I was present at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, then also had to be at the church at 8:30 the next morning (2 ½ hours early) for pictures. It was fun to be part of an event so steeped in southern traditions. Everything was planned and carried out just so—and from what I understand nearly all of the planning and decision-making was done by Katherine’s parents, so it was pretty stress-free for the bride and groom. It was also a Presbyterian ceremony rather than Catholic, so all in all it was different from ours on multiple levels. Still lovely, though, and I am so happy to have been there to help celebrate their union in Christian marriage.
In other news, I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon (27 weeks!). This is when I’m scheduled to do my glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. I’m hoping that the orange glucose drink is not as bad as some people have said it is, and that I don’t feel like passing out after I drink it, like others have said they did…
I’m pretty sure that after this appointment I start going in every two weeks rather than every four, since I’m starting my third trimester! Time is really flying now. My official last day of work is set for Friday, April 16th, only a little over a month away. I can’t believe that I’m almost “finished working”, but I am really looking forward to meeting my baby (duh!) and spending every day loving and taking care of him or her. It’s just incredible to me that I’m already six months pregnant—two thirds of the way there!
At the rehearsal dinner last Friday, Daniel and his cousin Michael dressed up as Lloyd and Harry from the movie “Dumb and Dumber,” which they all love. Daniel was in the orange tuxedo and Michael was in the blue, with matching top hats and canes, which they used to swordfight into the party as they made their entrance. This was a surprise for John (Daniel had received approval from the bride, Katherine, beforehand), and as far as I could tell it was quite a hit—and of course entirely unexpected by nearly all of the guests.
As the wife of the best man, and family, I was present at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, then also had to be at the church at 8:30 the next morning (2 ½ hours early) for pictures. It was fun to be part of an event so steeped in southern traditions. Everything was planned and carried out just so—and from what I understand nearly all of the planning and decision-making was done by Katherine’s parents, so it was pretty stress-free for the bride and groom. It was also a Presbyterian ceremony rather than Catholic, so all in all it was different from ours on multiple levels. Still lovely, though, and I am so happy to have been there to help celebrate their union in Christian marriage.
In other news, I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon (27 weeks!). This is when I’m scheduled to do my glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes. I’m hoping that the orange glucose drink is not as bad as some people have said it is, and that I don’t feel like passing out after I drink it, like others have said they did…
I’m pretty sure that after this appointment I start going in every two weeks rather than every four, since I’m starting my third trimester! Time is really flying now. My official last day of work is set for Friday, April 16th, only a little over a month away. I can’t believe that I’m almost “finished working”, but I am really looking forward to meeting my baby (duh!) and spending every day loving and taking care of him or her. It’s just incredible to me that I’m already six months pregnant—two thirds of the way there!
Friday, March 5, 2010
On The Road
Right now, Daniel and I are in Birmingham, Alabama for the first of five weddings we will be attending this year. Daniel's brother John is getting married on Saturday. He was best man in our wedding last year, and now Daniel is best man in his.
We had a hard time getting out the door on Wednesday for our first married road trip, and our goal of leaving home at 3 p.m. turned into 4:30 p.m. because of circumstances beyond our control (story of our lives), so we got on the road with the GPS telling us we would reach our destination at 4:48 a.m. (We had thought about stopping somewhere halfway for the night, but figured we might as well drive straight through and save ourselves 50 bucks.) We packed sandwiches and snacks for the car so that we could minimize stops, and we were on our way.
Daniel drove most of the way himself, not asking me to take over at all until around midnight, when I drove for an hour and a half. I took a turn again at 3:20 a.m. and drove until a little after 4 just so that Daniel could have a quick nap... and at 3:45 while I was driving on a long stretch of empty highway in Alabama, an unidentified sitting object appeared suddenly in my headlights in the middle of my lane. It was large and dark, and it was obviously dark outside, plus the pavement was black, so I didn't see this object until it was directly in front of me. Driving at 70 mph (that was actually the speed limit- I wasn't speeding!), I had just enough time to swerve into the left lane in an attempt to avoid it. Whatever it was still hit the front right corner of my car, and hit loudly. It did not sound good. Sure enough, when we pulled over to look at the car at the next exit, the entire right side of my front bumper was cracked and pieces of the fiberglass were completely gone. What was left is now hanging to flap in the wind. If we were worried about money before we left, (who doesn't worry about money, right?) we are even more now. Auto body work is always expensive, and this definitely needs to be fixed.
Thank God, though, that it was not worse than it was. I am convinced that if there had been another car on the road driving next to me and I hadn't been able to swerve into the other lane, we could have been hurt. I still have no idea what that object was.
Regardless of our worries, though, we got to John's apartment at a little before 5 a.m., which was actually 4 a.m. Alabama time-- and we are here to celebrate! Daniel's brother is getting married and we are gaining a wonderful new member of the family. We are so very, very happy for them. I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding.
We will be driving home on Sunday, hopefully this time without incident... and we're trying very hard to trust in our God to provide for us. Take care, everyone.
We had a hard time getting out the door on Wednesday for our first married road trip, and our goal of leaving home at 3 p.m. turned into 4:30 p.m. because of circumstances beyond our control (story of our lives), so we got on the road with the GPS telling us we would reach our destination at 4:48 a.m. (We had thought about stopping somewhere halfway for the night, but figured we might as well drive straight through and save ourselves 50 bucks.) We packed sandwiches and snacks for the car so that we could minimize stops, and we were on our way.
Daniel drove most of the way himself, not asking me to take over at all until around midnight, when I drove for an hour and a half. I took a turn again at 3:20 a.m. and drove until a little after 4 just so that Daniel could have a quick nap... and at 3:45 while I was driving on a long stretch of empty highway in Alabama, an unidentified sitting object appeared suddenly in my headlights in the middle of my lane. It was large and dark, and it was obviously dark outside, plus the pavement was black, so I didn't see this object until it was directly in front of me. Driving at 70 mph (that was actually the speed limit- I wasn't speeding!), I had just enough time to swerve into the left lane in an attempt to avoid it. Whatever it was still hit the front right corner of my car, and hit loudly. It did not sound good. Sure enough, when we pulled over to look at the car at the next exit, the entire right side of my front bumper was cracked and pieces of the fiberglass were completely gone. What was left is now hanging to flap in the wind. If we were worried about money before we left, (who doesn't worry about money, right?) we are even more now. Auto body work is always expensive, and this definitely needs to be fixed.
Thank God, though, that it was not worse than it was. I am convinced that if there had been another car on the road driving next to me and I hadn't been able to swerve into the other lane, we could have been hurt. I still have no idea what that object was.
Regardless of our worries, though, we got to John's apartment at a little before 5 a.m., which was actually 4 a.m. Alabama time-- and we are here to celebrate! Daniel's brother is getting married and we are gaining a wonderful new member of the family. We are so very, very happy for them. I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding.
We will be driving home on Sunday, hopefully this time without incident... and we're trying very hard to trust in our God to provide for us. Take care, everyone.
Friday, February 26, 2010
What's in a Name?
This week, I thought I’d share with you some words from Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, as quoted in a beautiful book I was given by a friend at work called "Prayerfully Expecting: A Nine-Month Novena for Mothers to Be" by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle. (I highly recommend it!)
“What was the Good News that Christ had come to give? That God is love. That God loves you. God loves me. That God has made you and made me for better things to love and to be loved. We are not just a number in the world. That’s why it is so wonderful to recognize the presence of that unborn child, the gift of God. The greatest gift of God to a family is the child, because it is the fruit of love.
"And we read something very beautiful in the Scripture, also, where God speaks, and He says: ‘Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of My hand. You are precious to me. I have called you by name.’
"That is why as soon as a child is born, we give it a name, the name God has called from all eternity—to love and be loved.”
There is so much in Mother Teresa’s words to wonder at. One thing that struck me is at the very end: that the names we choose to give our children are the very names that “God has called from all eternity.” That is amazing!
And speaking of names (since I don’t think I’ve shared them yet), Daniel and I have decided on “Charles Edward” for a boy—our fathers’ middle names put together—and “Samantha Mary” for a girl—“Samantha” just because we like it and “Mary” for a number of reasons.
Have a wonderful weekend!
“What was the Good News that Christ had come to give? That God is love. That God loves you. God loves me. That God has made you and made me for better things to love and to be loved. We are not just a number in the world. That’s why it is so wonderful to recognize the presence of that unborn child, the gift of God. The greatest gift of God to a family is the child, because it is the fruit of love.
"And we read something very beautiful in the Scripture, also, where God speaks, and He says: ‘Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of My hand. You are precious to me. I have called you by name.’
"That is why as soon as a child is born, we give it a name, the name God has called from all eternity—to love and be loved.”
There is so much in Mother Teresa’s words to wonder at. One thing that struck me is at the very end: that the names we choose to give our children are the very names that “God has called from all eternity.” That is amazing!
And speaking of names (since I don’t think I’ve shared them yet), Daniel and I have decided on “Charles Edward” for a boy—our fathers’ middle names put together—and “Samantha Mary” for a girl—“Samantha” just because we like it and “Mary” for a number of reasons.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Happy
I have been thinking a lot this week about how happy I am. Seriously. I am very, very happy. I have to admit that sometimes when I think about it too much I worry that I’m too happy, that I have it too good, that I haven’t struggled quite enough. I don’t know quite what to do about that worry except attempt to dismiss it with a prayer (any suggestions on that?). But what I do know is that although I can’t say that my life is 100% perfect, and there are times when I wish for more than the abundant blessings I have been given, I am always happy—even when I am momentarily sad or frustrated or angry on the surface.
The truth is that I have everything that I ever wanted for this point in my life. I remember thinking in high school that about a year or so after college would be a good time to get married, possibly to someone I would meet and date in college; I met Daniel almost as soon as I arrived on campus, and we got married one year and five days after graduating. We both already had jobs lined up for after graduation, and that very summer we purchased a house on a beautiful piece of land less than ten minutes from my parents’ house; I had always wanted to live close to my family.
I always wanted to start a family soon after getting married, and we hoped that I would get pregnant in the fall of 2009; I got pregnant in September. If you have been following my blog for a while, you know by now that I am a worry wart. So, early on when the risk of miscarriage was still very substantial, I was so afraid that because it had happened so easily, something was going to go wrong. But I am now twenty-four weeks along, and so far so good, thank God! Our plan to have me stay home to take care of our baby seems also to be working out, even if our budget will be a little tight; I always wanted to stay home with my children like my mom did and does with hers.
As you can see, everything is exactly as I would want it to be. Not everyone wants to be settled down with a home (and mortgage), husband, and family of their own at my age. But I always did. And although everything is not always picture perfect, I am always happy. The other day while I sat by myself at home just feeling my little one’s enthusiastic kicks, I sang my baby the blessing that my mom always used to sing to me and imagined blessing his forehead once he is born. And I was so overwhelmed with joy that it brought tears to my eyes. I have been so very blessed.
The truth is that I have everything that I ever wanted for this point in my life. I remember thinking in high school that about a year or so after college would be a good time to get married, possibly to someone I would meet and date in college; I met Daniel almost as soon as I arrived on campus, and we got married one year and five days after graduating. We both already had jobs lined up for after graduation, and that very summer we purchased a house on a beautiful piece of land less than ten minutes from my parents’ house; I had always wanted to live close to my family.
I always wanted to start a family soon after getting married, and we hoped that I would get pregnant in the fall of 2009; I got pregnant in September. If you have been following my blog for a while, you know by now that I am a worry wart. So, early on when the risk of miscarriage was still very substantial, I was so afraid that because it had happened so easily, something was going to go wrong. But I am now twenty-four weeks along, and so far so good, thank God! Our plan to have me stay home to take care of our baby seems also to be working out, even if our budget will be a little tight; I always wanted to stay home with my children like my mom did and does with hers.
As you can see, everything is exactly as I would want it to be. Not everyone wants to be settled down with a home (and mortgage), husband, and family of their own at my age. But I always did. And although everything is not always picture perfect, I am always happy. The other day while I sat by myself at home just feeling my little one’s enthusiastic kicks, I sang my baby the blessing that my mom always used to sing to me and imagined blessing his forehead once he is born. And I was so overwhelmed with joy that it brought tears to my eyes. I have been so very blessed.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Snowed In
Daniel and I have spent a good part of the past week and a half at home, with our cars buried in the driveway. We have gotten nearly four feet of snow between two major snowstorms/blizzards only three days apart, and it took a while for a county plow to even make it to our road. Thankfully our power never went out, which is what I had been most worried about; I even added a fleece blanket under each of our window curtains last Friday just in case we lost heat.
Since Daniel works at a school, he was off all of last week plus Presidents’ Day, which made it pretty much a second winter break. Most days we couldn’t go anywhere, so we got to spend quite a bit of time together just the two of us—this included sleeping in every day, watching several movies, drinking plenty of tea and hot chocolate, working around the house, and being entertained by our baby’s acrobatics.
Our little one is very active and can be unquestionably felt from the outside now, which makes Daniel happy. We can even see him or her squirming around under my shirt! It really is amazing how much time we both can contentedly spend with a hand on my belly (and how much we can laugh over a flip or a double kick/punch).
In other words, although we were stuck at home for so much time, we were certainly not bored. It was surreal, as though time stopped for a week, but it was perfectly wonderful. I’m really going to miss Daniel now that he is back at work again. Of course, I know that parents around here are probably overjoyed to be sending their kids back to school after so many snow days!
Lent begins this week, and it seems to have snuck up on us. Christmas was just yesterday, wasn’t it? I still need to decide what sacrifices I will be making this year—since I am pregnant, I won’t be fasting on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday, which will be strange.
Anyways, I don’t have much else to say for now… since this is a delayed entry from last Friday, you will be hearing from me again very soon!
Since Daniel works at a school, he was off all of last week plus Presidents’ Day, which made it pretty much a second winter break. Most days we couldn’t go anywhere, so we got to spend quite a bit of time together just the two of us—this included sleeping in every day, watching several movies, drinking plenty of tea and hot chocolate, working around the house, and being entertained by our baby’s acrobatics.
Our little one is very active and can be unquestionably felt from the outside now, which makes Daniel happy. We can even see him or her squirming around under my shirt! It really is amazing how much time we both can contentedly spend with a hand on my belly (and how much we can laugh over a flip or a double kick/punch).
In other words, although we were stuck at home for so much time, we were certainly not bored. It was surreal, as though time stopped for a week, but it was perfectly wonderful. I’m really going to miss Daniel now that he is back at work again. Of course, I know that parents around here are probably overjoyed to be sending their kids back to school after so many snow days!
Lent begins this week, and it seems to have snuck up on us. Christmas was just yesterday, wasn’t it? I still need to decide what sacrifices I will be making this year—since I am pregnant, I won’t be fasting on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday, which will be strange.
Anyways, I don’t have much else to say for now… since this is a delayed entry from last Friday, you will be hearing from me again very soon!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Words of Wisdom from St. Francis (but not really)
As a pregnant woman, I am finding that it can be easy to fall into thinking that my husband should be taking care of me by shouldering more than his “fair share” of household work. Of course, I believe that a man should show his love for his pregnant wife by understanding that she is more tired than usual, etc. and helping her where he can.
Daniel is doing an excellent job of this, yet there are times when I find myself wishing for even more, thinking that I “deserve” even more, as all of us imperfect people so often do. So, as a way of keeping myself in check I have been repeating the portion of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which I learned today actually originated sometime around World War I and was not written by St. Francis at all) that I have always thought was particularly applicable to marriage. I liked it so much that I even considered putting it in our wedding program, but there wasn’t space:
“…O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.”
That’s it for a very short entry this week. For those of you in the path of the big winter storm headed for the Mid-Atlantic and North-East today and tomorrow, stay safe and warm! I’m just crossing my fingers that we don’t lose power, and thus heat…
Daniel is doing an excellent job of this, yet there are times when I find myself wishing for even more, thinking that I “deserve” even more, as all of us imperfect people so often do. So, as a way of keeping myself in check I have been repeating the portion of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis (which I learned today actually originated sometime around World War I and was not written by St. Francis at all) that I have always thought was particularly applicable to marriage. I liked it so much that I even considered putting it in our wedding program, but there wasn’t space:
“…O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.”
That’s it for a very short entry this week. For those of you in the path of the big winter storm headed for the Mid-Atlantic and North-East today and tomorrow, stay safe and warm! I’m just crossing my fingers that we don’t lose power, and thus heat…
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