7 Quick Takes Friday
1. Fierce is halfway through his two week winter break. Woot! We’ve been in new-baby-zombie-land and at least now we can do that together. I think the whole “going to work” thing is overrated. 2. My grandmother started hospice care this last week and is showing signs of being antibiotic-resistant. She has been falling deeper into dementia since at least 2007, maybe longer. It struck me this last week when I went to take Wolfie and Zoe for a visit (Zoe is named after my grandmother), how hard things have been for so long. My grandmother requires full-time care and my grandfather, who is still sharp as a tack, needs company and emotional support. I am grateful for the summer of 2006, when I stayed with grandparents while working at an office...
Read MoreThose Holy Women
There are a couple of women in my life who glow with the love and joy of Christianity in practice. For example, my friend Lisa is expecting her sixth baby this August; no matter what her kids are doing, she is patient and kind. When asked about her cheerfulness in the face of nails-on-a-chalkboard-whining, she responds simply, “I love my life.” I met her when she was a single woman working as a Catholic missionary on my college campus. When I went through some difficult things in college, Lisa was present. She never seemed to offer me advice or answers, but her joy illuminated my way. When I was treated badly by a priest, and was utterly shocked that a member of the cloth could be unkind, it was Lisa’s joy that kept me grounded in my faith. When...
Read MoreThe difference between backyard chicken eggs and “slave eggs”
My dad calls conventionally raised eggs “slave eggs.” Until our chickens started laying in September, we were paying a premium for “cage free” and “vegetarian-fed” eggs. This is a picture of 1 conventional egg and 2 of our early backyard eggs. Note that the conventional egg yolk broke, just falling into the bowl. When I scramble our eggs, I actually have to work to get the yolk and whites to mix because the yolk is so strong. The eggs are now regular size, but the color remains strong. The shells are so thick that I have to smash them on the counter to make a crack. Well done...
Read MoreBaby Bliss
Zoe is a week old, and I am enjoying the honeymoon period. She sleeps easily, nurses easily, and her primary complaint is getting hiccups 10 times a day. Fierce and I change her outfit far more often than is necessary, since we know she’ll only fit into these tiny clothes for a few weeks and we enjoy seeing how everything looks. We still haven’t gone through all of them, despite having three changes a day for nine days. Wolfie is doing well, but is testing his boundaries. We’re dealing with more defiance, some outright, some subtle. However, today was a day where he turned a corner and was sweet with me for the first time since the baby was born. He got on my (recently vacated) lap and asked me to pull my blanket over his legs. He laid on top of...
Read MoreNot that you wanted any….
I just realized that some people might read the title of my last post and think, “ew, good!” Just to clarify: I would never post birth pictures online. Or share them with anyone in person. The title comes from the fact that even if we had planned to document the momentous occasion, we would not have been able to.
Read MoreWhy There Are No Birth Pictures
1:00 pm: I’m on the phone with my mom, irritated by Braxton Hicks that feel like trapped gas. 1:45 pm: I realize that I am not able to follow the plot of a Law & Order episode, call midwife and explain that these gas pains are 2-3 minutes apart and that I can’t—“here comes another one” “Okay, get on your hands and knees, relax your tummy, relax your kegels, relax your hips.” “Okay, that’s better.” “That was only 30 seconds.” “Oh no, I’m still rock hard, it just doesn’t hurt now that I relaxed.” “Oh. I think one of us will come over and check you, just to see.” 2:15 pm: Midwife arrives. I am trying to arrange childcare for Wolfie in the 90 seconds between peaks. “You’re 6 cm.” “Are you kidding me? That’s...
Read MoreThe ASAHM is really getting closer to SAHM
Things at my school have been miserable this year. Between the hate mail generated by a few parents, to the belief that I can always do more or do things differently enough to satisfy everyone, I’m tired. I became a one-day-a-week teacher putting in 15 hours into teaching, grading, and writing curriculum. After the latest round of, “And can you add in more oral assessments for the 8th graders? The ones who talk through the whole class anyway? And grade quizzes faster–24 hour turn-around isn’t good enough. And motivate the kids to learn a language that we don’t value enough to count toward sports eligibility. And add some more graphics to that textbook you’re writing,” I told my principal that I was carefully considering...
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