Thursday, August 27, 2009

Today...

I will have a baby.

I'm being induced at 11:30. This is just too weird. I really don't like having it scheduled, but I'll address why we're doing it that way in another post.

So ... even though this isn't the ideal way I'd like to go into labor, I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

One Hour Photo

I often think of myself as the "one hour photo" type ... by which I mean that I don't like to wait. (Do you remember when you dropped off your film and had to wait at least a couple days, if not a week, for your pictures to be developed?) And, with the efficiency of today's technology, even one hour seems too long to wait for photos ... to me, anyway.

That said, 40 weeks is a long time to wait for a baby to be born. Granted, for a couple of those first weeks, I didn't know I was pregnant. (Technicality: based on how the OB-GYN world counts pregnancy, you're actually NOT PREGNANT for about the first two weeks that you're "pregnant." Go figure.)

So, I'm 38 weeks pregnant today. I've been having contractions off and on for at least a month. I had contractions all night last night, some of them relatively painful. I got excited, hopeful. I sat up from 3:30-5, timing them. They were coming 4-5 minutes apart. Not bad. But they didn't get any "worse" or stronger, so I went back to bed. I'm not in labor. And as a result, I'm in a really grouchy mood. It doesn't help that I'm tired, that my parents left today after a brief visit, that my dog ate (yet some more) of my home-made bread, that my washer has been out of commission for THREE WEEKS...

And while we're talking about the washer: I had the appliance guys come out three weeks ago today. They said they needed to order a couple parts, that it would take a couple of days, maybe a week. Of course, that seemed too long for Miss One Hour Photo, but I sucked it up and did laundry at my mother-in-law's, which was nice, except for all the hauling that involves. Every day that I didn't hear from the appliance guys, I would think, apparently over-optimistically, maybe they'll call tomorrow! Finally, Bob called them. Turns out a part is on back-order. Honestly, I do not understand why they didn't let me know this. Ugh. It would have been helpful, as the piles of laundry got taller and taller, to know that I should go do laundry somewhere, and not hold out hope that I'd be doing it in my own basement the next day or so.

Seriously, what were they thinking? And I don't even know if there's an estimate on when the part will arrive. But I am NOT HAPPY. Come on guys. Get my freaking washer fixed for me already. I do not want to bring a new baby home to a house filled with dirty laundry...

And may that new baby come soon...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Susan.

It seems a little crazy to blog about someone I've never met, but...

I came across Fat Cyclist at least a year ago, and I've been reading his blog faithfully since then. I'm not a cyclist, not particularly interested in cycling, but he's a good writer, and I've enjoyed reading his blog.

His wife Susan has been battling breast cancer off and on since 2004. In 2007, they learned that it had metastasized, eventually reaching her bones, lungs, and brain. She had a mastectomy, chemo, several rounds of radiation, and more chemo. Eventually, there was nothing more they could do for her, other than try to reduce her pain. But how do you reduce the pain of a woman who wants to live? Who loves her husband and wants to be there for her four children? She fought and fought and finally died August 5th.

We've been praying for her and their family, and I'm grieving for them, despite the fact that I've never met them.

I like that Elden (aka the Fat Cyclist) felt out of control, looked at the situation, and decided what he could control. They moved so he could take a job with better benefits so that she could have the best treatment available. And he started fighting cancer in the only way he could: he used his blog to create a LiveStrong team of over 500 members; to date, they've raised over a half million dollars. This is both the largest team and the largest sum of money ever in the LiveStrong challenges.

When people question the value of blogs, I feel I can cite his as an example of good. He's done a lot of good through his site, and a lot of people who are fighting cancer (or who have loved ones fighting cancer) have been encouraged in their fight. On his end, he's received tons of encouragement; Susan loved what he was doing; and being able to write about it has been good therapy. That, and cycling.

I realize this has nothing to do with my family, or my house, or this blog ... but perhaps you might say a prayer for the Nelson family out in Utah? They could use it.