Mama-luia

I haven't blogged in so long, and for my few but faithful readers, you already know why: Our baby was born just over a week ago. I was due on April 15th. Guess what day I delivered our beautiful baby? Yes, April 15th. On Tuesday the 14th, Mom and I trekked off together to my prenatal appointment with my midwife. She noticed my blood pressure was slightly elevated and we discussed the possible explanations; she was completely reassuring, saying, "I'll see you on Friday for another home visit, so long as you're still pregnant" but suggested I go get an innocent blood test to confirm I was still the picture of pregnancy health. I went over to the hospital, discussing with my mom what errands we would run after this test, specifically, returning our digital camera that was dead, and getting a new one so to have pictures of the baby whenever it was to be born. Suddenly when in the hospital, I was being met with residents with a much more concerned expressi...

One year ago today, on the Feast of the Divine Mercy, my niece became a Christian. This day was significant to me not only because Norah is my niece, but she is also my godchild. I went through a very difficult Lent this past year. The Saturday before Lent began, two students from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, both of whom I loved very much, died in a tragic car accident. When Ash Wednesday followed that week, the sense of usual sobriety of Lent was intensified with unspeakable tragedy and sorrow. I spent much of the next forty days contemplating death and how much I felt unprepared to face my own. It was a Lent unlike any other I had experienced. Easter Sunday itself was still thick with the haunting thought of these students' death. I ate a delicious Easter brunch with two friends and my then fiance, feeling solemnly, hesitantly festive for the Easter season; we looked from our dining table onto a spectacular view of the same lake that took these two young people so suddenly. Easter d...

I have returned from my mini blogging hiatus to wish you all a HAPPY SOLEMNITY! I have been geekishly excited for the Feast of the Annunciation for literally months. Not only is it a welcome break in the middle of Lent, and thus an excuse to eat delicious, evil foods (mmm cheesecake!) but also a beautiful feast day in and of itself. We're talkin': St. Gabriel's mystical message to a Virgin that she would bear a Son Our Lady's fiat , bringing about the Incarnation itself The whole of human history being changed in a single moment as God became Man . I have been thinking this over, that we tend to say "God became Man." That's true, He did. Yet this conjures up images of a walking, talking, sandal-wearing soulful-eyed Sacred Heart-type Christ. The problem with this phrase is that it seems to suggest that when the Incarnation took place, God became a grown man . He became a pre-born child. The very notion of this gives me pause. As I carry around a...

I must tell you my triumph for today. I was able to walk around outside for the first time in 2009 wearing my BIRKENSTOCKS! Spring has officially sprung for this Crunchy Con.

What does a husband who needs to get up at 3:30am, a pregnant insomniac, and an incurable Internet addiction spell? Blogging before sunrise. I know sleep would be a reasonable solution to my constant tiredness, irritability and lack of energy. Trouble is, as soon as I wake up, even if it's just to go the bathroom, I just can't go back to sleep. Today, I am plagued with to-do lists and goals and thinking, "good grief, my due date is in four and half weeks. I have so much work to do!" Amidst the tortured thought processes, I came across this article this morning. For someone obsessed with throwing things out*, this was music to my ears. Will I dare to accept the 100 Things Challenge? Will I dare to embark on it in my last few weeks before Baby? Better yet, won't having a baby (and all the stuff they seem to generate!) not necessitate such a stream-lining? I shall ponder this as I trek back to bed, hoping to get more than my current four and half hour...

I said I wasn't going to buy any more tea or tea-related substances before Easter. . . but we've run out of milk. The few tea bags we have left will NOT do without milk. It's not breaking my fast to buy some milk, now, is it? Can milk really be considered a tea-related substance, given how multi-purpose it is? Plus, don't pregnant women need their calcium? Or am I just trying to justify myself? It's sort of sad that I find myself screaming inside my head at the injustice of it all, when I remember why we adopt some trivial, silly "penances" for 40 days.

A few weeks ago, I was honoured by a friend of mine who offered to host for me a Blessingway. This is a traditional Navajo rite in which an expectant mother is surrounded by other women to give her strength and support as she makes her preparations for the labour, birth and, of course, raising of her little child. (My Blessingway was of a distinctly Catholic nature, however.) The day was such an amazing gift to me. I described it later to a very hip young mother -- who also happens to be a doula -- as being paradoxically humbling, edifying, and empowering all at one time. She has had several Blessingways in her honour, and also hosted them for other women, so she seemed to understand what I was trying to say. I have been thinking about childbirth a lot lately -- for obvious reasons -- and one thing that keeps coming to mind is the sisterhood that our culture previously attached to it. Women would give birth surrounded by female relatives and community members who would be on hand...