Let us rise up and be thankful

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." - Buddha

My dad made little placecards for everyone at Thanksgiving, and this quote was on mine. I love that we all have something simple and basic to be grateful every day.

I've been fortunate enough to have some extra time off of work this weekend that coincided with time off from grading and preparing lessons for my night job. I loved the simplicity as I got to spend time with Kevin, to put up my tree, to go walking outside, to sing in my "Messiah" rehearsals, to nap, to spend time with our families and to prepare our nursery.

Tomorrow will be a busy day at work as I return, but I feel well cared for and prepared for it. There's always something to be grateful for.

Looking Back and Forward

Today I finished cutting back the 16 or 17 rose bushes lining our 80-foot driveway for the winter. I started trimming them the second to last Saturday in October, but because of finicky weather and my schedule only allowing me to work on them on Saturdays it has taken this long to finish the job.

As I was trimming them, I could smell the rose fragrance lingering on the leaves and in the green stems. I thought about the several 70- and 80-something couples on my street who also have roses. The older men will take care of almost anything in the yard, but their wives tend to the roses. My next door neighbor told me that the woman who planted the roses in my yard decades ago was very proud of them and bought some very expensive prize bushes. Tending to these roses, I felt I was carrying on a feminine legacy - that maybe this woman (who has passed on) might be glad that here was another woman who cares for these roses just as she had.

Cutting back roses in a significant way requires some physical positions which can be awkward when you're two months away from having a baby, but I eventually became used to bending, squatting, and standing again, which I figure can only be good preparation for labor. Thinking of these feminine acts, both of preparing for labor and nurturing gardens, brought me to think of my own female ancestors. My grandma on my dad's side has always loved her roses and brought their scent into her home. During the summer, she always has some cut to show her guests. My mom's mother had a green thumb and took great care over her magnificent flower gardens. I remember that she could take a cut and put it under a bottle in her garden and somehow grow a rose bush from the stem.

As I thought on these memories, small in their way but miraculous when you consider the beauty and life force behind earth, plants, and caretakers, this work became more like a ceremony for me. As I cut the roses back, I prepared them for late spring when they will again take off magnificently. By then I hope to show my new baby the beauty and brightness of these blossoms I have nurtured like the many women who have come before me.

And, for a classic story about cutting back roses, check out last year's post.

Pregnancy Things I Love and Not-so-much

First, the Love:

• Feeling like it's perfectly legitimate to negate the benefits of my 2-mile lunch walk by grabbing a hot chocolate on the way back to the office
• Cute little boy clothes!
• Good excuses to buy things
• A reason to set Kevin remodeling (he's a great sport)
• Realizing there's always another little person with me, especially when he moves

And the things that are Not-so-much:

• Being exhausted at two o'clock in the afternoon, or at eight o'clock in the evening
• Not ever finding that comfortable sleeping position, even after taking up 2/3 of the bed
• Realizing there's so much I have to do
• Kicks in the lungs with accompanying lightheadedness
• Severe hampering of my exercise rituals (although I think the change to standard time is also to blame)
• Tons of decisions. Who has time for that?

And just for fun:

A baby bump.

A Twitter Type of Journal

I've noticed that between working two jobs and being in my third trimester, I have little time or energy for much else. Facebook has of late become my preferred form of social communication because it's shorter and easier to keep up on than blogging. And even then I'm not very good at keeping up on it.

But as I progress further along and begin to look forward to this baby, I want to have some way of recording my thoughts, intentions, and insights. Which is why I purchased a small one of these yesterday.

Kevin has one of these and often writes very short blurbs in it. He calls it "tweeting his journal," referring to Twitter, which allows updates that are 140 characters (I'm @BristleconePine, btw).

As far as journal writing goes, I think that's something I can do as well. Yesterday's was the first entry: After a remarkable weekend full of friends and family, I feel so much love and support. I decided that my problems are much easier to handle, and I'll take my own problems any day over those others must face.