In college I became friends with some very interesting people. Interesting being a very mild adjective with which to describe them. I'm not sure why or how these were the people who ended up in my life. It just kind of happened that way.
First there was Kelly. She seemed very normal. The interesting thing about her was that she was black, but I didn't know it. I'm actually not joking. I thought she was just really tan until I saw pictures of her family and they definitely were all African American. I remember calling my mom and saying, "Did you know that Kelly is black?" and she said, "...umm.. yes." Silly me. Yes, I realize I'm the strange one in this story. To say that I was naive (dumb?) and sheltered back then would be quite the understatement. The reason I mention her, though, is because after Christmas vacation I came back to school and she had taken all of the pictures of the two of us down from her walls. She also stopped speaking to me and made other friends. I have no idea what happened. I never asked either.
There was Yanela. My first college roommate. She was from Panama and never spoke to me. In the beginning I made many attempts at inviting her to do things with my friends and me, but it was very apparent that she wanted nothing to do with me. She moved out without telling me or the school. I knew she was moving out because one day as I sat on the computer, she started packing all of her things in boxes. I'm fairly certain that she left without saying goodbye. The great thing about the way that she left was that by the time the school figured out she was gone it was too late for them to place someone in my room. I had a room to myself for half a year. sweeeet.
Next there was Dan. Everyone assumed he was gay including me, but he denied it. Dan was super fun most of the time... except for the days when he would lock himself up in his room and wouldn't talk or eat. Apparently he was bi-polar and at some point early in my freshman year, he stopped taking his medication and started self-medicating. He transferred to another school nearby for sophomore year. Then he dropped out and started living with a girl somewhere in Virginia. We lost touch, but I did find out a few years down the road that he eventually did come out of the closet.
Fatima. She might possibly have been the craziest person I've ever met. She had two distinct personalities so much so that we gave her alternate a nickname: Faduma. Faduma came around any time Fatima was under the influence which was pretty often. Faduma was known to do things like: pour two bottles of beer on my head, light people's hair on fire, steal nursing mannequins from the nursing department of our school, suddenly not recognize the people she was hanging out with all night at a club, and last but certainly not least.. steal cars. Or, actually, it was only one car. She stole it from her "friend" and parked it in a gas station parking lot as a "joke". However, she never planned on telling her "friend" where it was. If it wasn't for me, that girl might not have ever found her car. Sorry Sarah saves the day! In the end Fatima (or was it Faduma?) failed out of school, owed thousands of dollars in bounced checks to the university (and the local Chinese food restaurant) and was forced by her parents to come live with them in Ethiopia. Fatima was super fun to hang out with, though! I swear! We did keep in touch a little through email. Last I heard, though, she had escaped her parents' clutches and was living in England. Who knows if that's true or what ever became of her. I sure wouldn't mind seeing her again, though. Seeing FATIMA, that is.
There was also Yvonne, who technically wasn't really much of a friend, but she is the girl whose car Faduma stole and she dated one of Mike's best friends for a while, so she was in my life quite a bit. This girl called in a bomb threat to the school so that her bf could get extra time to study for a final he thought he was going to fail. And guess who she confided her dirty deed to? Mwa. Yep. I told my best friend, my best friend told the powers that be, and guess who was back at the university the next year? Yvonne. Apparently, calling in a bomb threat is not enough to get you kicked out of college. Who knew?
There were others... but the stories I have to tell about them are most likely too convoluted for a short blog post.
I often say that college for me was much more about life experience than about classroom learning. The people I encountered certainly taught me a lot. Reading this, though, I am rather surprised that I managed to make it through college with a decent gpa and my scholarship intact.
Go figure.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Motherhood
It's hard to write these days. How do I even begin to accurately put my feelings into words? I don't know, but I suppose I should try.
Most of the time, I am just in awe of my baby... of the fact that I have a baby... that one day it was just Michael and me and the next here he was.
I think I've been riding a wave of euphoria for the past 2 months. Yep. 2 months. My precious little guy will be 2 months old tomorrow. Time is flying.
Mike gets frustrated with me at times because I will often just sit and stare at Sawyer. In fact, when we're watching something on tv that Mike wants me to see, he will hold Sawyer out of my eye shot so that I won't be distracted by our gorgeous little baby.
Motherhood, so far (KNOCK ON WOOD!) has been much easier than I anticipated. I figured the exhaustion would really get the best of me, but I haven't really had much of a problem with that. A few things contributed to this, I think...
1) Michael didn't go back to work full time until just this past week. Almost 2 full months of a full time daddy/helper? priceless.
2) We lived with my parents for the first month. They cooked and cleaned for us, and all we had to do was tend to our baby. no problemo.
3) Sawyer is a champion sleeper. He has been sleeping "through the night" pretty much since we arrived back here to San Diego (*sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping a 6 hour stretch), and he has always been really great about waking up, eating, and promptly going right back to sleep. My sleepless nights have really been few and far between with this guy.
Did I mention that he rarely ever cries? seriously. Those inconsolable howling babies you see on tv (or encounter in the grocery store)? They're alien to me. My baby complains every now and then, but rarely gets to the point of an all out screech and can almost always be soothed very easily with food, a pacifier, or possibly a short walk around the room.
Mike and I are convinced that our next child is going to be the nightmare baby, because everyone is constantly telling us that not all babies are like our baby. We are the proud parents of one very content little man. (again, pardon me while I KNOCK ON WOOD furiously!) I am also slightly convinced that one day very soon Sawyer is going to wake up and throw a 24 hour temper tantrum to make up for being such an angelic child thus far.
Yesterday I was thinking about how lucky Michael and I have been. Because he didn't really go back to work full time until this past week, we have had so much time to just be a family and figure out this parenting thing without other life stresses getting in the way. I'm also thankful to be able to stay home and just be a mom. I know staying at home full time is not for everyone, but I certainly could not imagine not being with my baby all day long. And, though my pregnancy seemed long and arduous (ok, so that was really only the last month... but man was that last month tough!) I feel very blessed to have been able to cherish every minute of his short little life (both in the womb and out!).
Yes. Downright euphoric. That's exactly how I feel.
Labor and delivery were something else entirely, however. I think I had it quite a bit harder than most because women say that once that baby is in your arms you forget completely about the ordeal of getting him into the world. I did not, though. I still haven't. And I don't expect to forget anytime soon. It took me a while, but I have recently decided that it *maybe *might *possibly have been totally worth it and though I'm a total whimp and a tried and true quitter, I just might be up for doing it all again....
eventually.
I do suppose that it will be worth it if it means I will be able to experience the absolute bliss of motherhood once again.
Most of the time, I am just in awe of my baby... of the fact that I have a baby... that one day it was just Michael and me and the next here he was.
I think I've been riding a wave of euphoria for the past 2 months. Yep. 2 months. My precious little guy will be 2 months old tomorrow. Time is flying.
Mike gets frustrated with me at times because I will often just sit and stare at Sawyer. In fact, when we're watching something on tv that Mike wants me to see, he will hold Sawyer out of my eye shot so that I won't be distracted by our gorgeous little baby.
Motherhood, so far (KNOCK ON WOOD!) has been much easier than I anticipated. I figured the exhaustion would really get the best of me, but I haven't really had much of a problem with that. A few things contributed to this, I think...
1) Michael didn't go back to work full time until just this past week. Almost 2 full months of a full time daddy/helper? priceless.
2) We lived with my parents for the first month. They cooked and cleaned for us, and all we had to do was tend to our baby. no problemo.
3) Sawyer is a champion sleeper. He has been sleeping "through the night" pretty much since we arrived back here to San Diego (*sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping a 6 hour stretch), and he has always been really great about waking up, eating, and promptly going right back to sleep. My sleepless nights have really been few and far between with this guy.
Did I mention that he rarely ever cries? seriously. Those inconsolable howling babies you see on tv (or encounter in the grocery store)? They're alien to me. My baby complains every now and then, but rarely gets to the point of an all out screech and can almost always be soothed very easily with food, a pacifier, or possibly a short walk around the room.
Mike and I are convinced that our next child is going to be the nightmare baby, because everyone is constantly telling us that not all babies are like our baby. We are the proud parents of one very content little man. (again, pardon me while I KNOCK ON WOOD furiously!) I am also slightly convinced that one day very soon Sawyer is going to wake up and throw a 24 hour temper tantrum to make up for being such an angelic child thus far.
Yesterday I was thinking about how lucky Michael and I have been. Because he didn't really go back to work full time until this past week, we have had so much time to just be a family and figure out this parenting thing without other life stresses getting in the way. I'm also thankful to be able to stay home and just be a mom. I know staying at home full time is not for everyone, but I certainly could not imagine not being with my baby all day long. And, though my pregnancy seemed long and arduous (ok, so that was really only the last month... but man was that last month tough!) I feel very blessed to have been able to cherish every minute of his short little life (both in the womb and out!).
Yes. Downright euphoric. That's exactly how I feel.
Labor and delivery were something else entirely, however. I think I had it quite a bit harder than most because women say that once that baby is in your arms you forget completely about the ordeal of getting him into the world. I did not, though. I still haven't. And I don't expect to forget anytime soon. It took me a while, but I have recently decided that it *maybe *might *possibly have been totally worth it and though I'm a total whimp and a tried and true quitter, I just might be up for doing it all again....
eventually.
I do suppose that it will be worth it if it means I will be able to experience the absolute bliss of motherhood once again.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
American Idol Tearjerker
I'm not sure if you caught the latest episode of American Idol last night or not. Even if you're not an AI fan, there was a story featured last night that I think everyone needs to watch because I just can't get it out of my mind.
After watching this clip, two thoughts come to mind...
1. WoW
2. If placed in the same situation, would I be able to do what he is doing? I hope so. He is truly an amazing person.
Watch. I dare you not to cry.
VIDEO WAS REMOVED. I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO WATCH IT WHILE IT WAS THERE!
After watching this clip, two thoughts come to mind...
1. WoW
2. If placed in the same situation, would I be able to do what he is doing? I hope so. He is truly an amazing person.
Watch. I dare you not to cry.
VIDEO WAS REMOVED. I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO WATCH IT WHILE IT WAS THERE!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
LUNCH
Since I had Sawyer, I have forgotten to eat lunch exactly twice. I didn't make a decision not to eat lunch; I simply forgot.
Both times, I went about my day and realized at some point during the late afternoon that I was feeling hungry... then I promptly realized I was hungry because lunch had completely slipped my mind.
This is very unlike me. My former self would have known at least 24 hours in advance exactly what meals I wanted to have the next day. In fact, my former self was known to get downright panicky if lunchtime rolled around and there were no specific lunchtime plans in the works.
For this reason, the first time I forgot about lunch I was completely shocked. The second time... I was slightly concerned.
Is this forgetting about lunch thing going to become a habit?
I certainly hope not.
Both times, I went about my day and realized at some point during the late afternoon that I was feeling hungry... then I promptly realized I was hungry because lunch had completely slipped my mind.
This is very unlike me. My former self would have known at least 24 hours in advance exactly what meals I wanted to have the next day. In fact, my former self was known to get downright panicky if lunchtime rolled around and there were no specific lunchtime plans in the works.
For this reason, the first time I forgot about lunch I was completely shocked. The second time... I was slightly concerned.
Is this forgetting about lunch thing going to become a habit?
I certainly hope not.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Saying Goodbye to San Diego?
Mike is pretty sure that we're going to be moving sometime in the next few months. Hopefully to the Washington, DC area.
The DC area sounds like a dream come true for many reasons:
1. My entire family lives within a 2.5 hour range of DC -- I haven't been that close to my family since college.
2. We'd have a free place to stay. Yep, you heard me. Mike's grandmother passed away a few years ago and his cousin has been living in her house pretty much ever since... he's getting married in April and getting his own place which means the house will be open for us. Couldn't be better timing.
3. Do I even need to give any more reasons than that? No. I don't, but I will. Last, but not least, if we do get moved to the DC area it will be because Michael has been accepted to EWS (which is some school he has to do in order to make the next rank in the USMC) and also guarantees *GASP* no deployments for the next year. Wowie.
You know what, though? There's a part of me that isn't fully on board with the idea of moving in a few months. Call me crazy, but... we just got back! And what did we arrive to? Only the most gorgeous weather in the history of weather. It's January and for the past week we have been enjoying sunshine and weather in the 70's. It really just doesn't get much better than that. We leave our back door open pretty much all the time so the dogs can go in and out at will and we don't even have to worry about bugs infiltrating our home. I mean, is that awesome or is that awesome? It's awesome. I know.
Everyone always asks me how I like San Diego... and I always tell people... it's the best. The only way it could be any better is if my family lived nearby.
But they don't. Which is why the majority of me is super, crazy, wildly excited about trading in this gorgeous town I call home for a place near the Fam.
There is that tiny fraction of me, though, that will mourn the loss of my beautiful San Diego.
The DC area sounds like a dream come true for many reasons:
1. My entire family lives within a 2.5 hour range of DC -- I haven't been that close to my family since college.
2. We'd have a free place to stay. Yep, you heard me. Mike's grandmother passed away a few years ago and his cousin has been living in her house pretty much ever since... he's getting married in April and getting his own place which means the house will be open for us. Couldn't be better timing.
3. Do I even need to give any more reasons than that? No. I don't, but I will. Last, but not least, if we do get moved to the DC area it will be because Michael has been accepted to EWS (which is some school he has to do in order to make the next rank in the USMC) and also guarantees *GASP* no deployments for the next year. Wowie.
You know what, though? There's a part of me that isn't fully on board with the idea of moving in a few months. Call me crazy, but... we just got back! And what did we arrive to? Only the most gorgeous weather in the history of weather. It's January and for the past week we have been enjoying sunshine and weather in the 70's. It really just doesn't get much better than that. We leave our back door open pretty much all the time so the dogs can go in and out at will and we don't even have to worry about bugs infiltrating our home. I mean, is that awesome or is that awesome? It's awesome. I know.
Everyone always asks me how I like San Diego... and I always tell people... it's the best. The only way it could be any better is if my family lived nearby.
But they don't. Which is why the majority of me is super, crazy, wildly excited about trading in this gorgeous town I call home for a place near the Fam.
There is that tiny fraction of me, though, that will mourn the loss of my beautiful San Diego.
I wrote an entire blog post in my head last night while trying to get back to sleep after feeding Sawyer.... but I'll be damned if I have any small inkling as to what it was about now.
It frightens me a bit that I am up handling a little baby in the wee hours of the morning when I have been known to be very groggy and my mind has been known to play odd tricks on me.
For example, the other night when Mike came to bed he asked me if we could cuddle and I replied, "No, I'm holding Sawyer." He told me I wasn't holding Sawyer and asked again if we could cuddle. I said, "No. I'm still kind of holding Sawyer." I don't remember the conversation, but I do remember waking up thinking I was holding the baby and then realizing I wasn't. A very strange feeling indeed.
Because he sleeps in a bassinet right next to my bed, I will often awaken to the slightest grunt and moan and become very confused about when I last fed him/changed him/etc. I can always figure it out after slapping myself into awareness and doing some serious hurt-the-brain thinking, but being up at all hours of the night and having to be alert and aware is a difficult task for me to say the least.
On a positive note, Sawyer slept 7 hours in one stretch last night. I hate to speak to soon, but I do believe my groggy/ sleepless nights may soon be coming to an end!
It frightens me a bit that I am up handling a little baby in the wee hours of the morning when I have been known to be very groggy and my mind has been known to play odd tricks on me.
For example, the other night when Mike came to bed he asked me if we could cuddle and I replied, "No, I'm holding Sawyer." He told me I wasn't holding Sawyer and asked again if we could cuddle. I said, "No. I'm still kind of holding Sawyer." I don't remember the conversation, but I do remember waking up thinking I was holding the baby and then realizing I wasn't. A very strange feeling indeed.
Because he sleeps in a bassinet right next to my bed, I will often awaken to the slightest grunt and moan and become very confused about when I last fed him/changed him/etc. I can always figure it out after slapping myself into awareness and doing some serious hurt-the-brain thinking, but being up at all hours of the night and having to be alert and aware is a difficult task for me to say the least.
On a positive note, Sawyer slept 7 hours in one stretch last night. I hate to speak to soon, but I do believe my groggy/ sleepless nights may soon be coming to an end!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Bringing Baby West
We're back in California again. Back to our house and our life. The time in Pennsylvania flew by in the blink of an eye. It was so nice to be around family for such a long time, and it was incredibly special for the family to be able to spend a month with Sawyer before we dragged him away, back to the west coast.
Getting Sawyer here was a bit of an ordeal. Our (very young) pediatrician (who obviously has no kids of her own) told us at our first appointment that she wishes we would consider driving our one-month-old baby across the country instead of flying him.
....
Um. I can think of about a thousand reasons why driving a newborn baby across the country in the dead of winter is a bad idea right off hand. Her opinion sent us into a bit of a tailspin to say the least. Despite the fact that we got a second opinion and a third opinion (and a thousand other opinions from family and friends) and despite the fact that my gut told me that driving across the country with my newborn baby would be nothing short of my worst nightmare, that pediatrician sufficiently freaked the hell out of me, and I knew that I would be worried sick about the trip no matter what.
Thankfully, my wonderful sister did the plane trip with me since Michael had the task of driving the dogs back. The trip went as smoothly as it could possibly have gone, despite the fact that a lady with a cold who was blowing her nose on her shirt and sneezing freely into the recirculated air sat right in front of us AND the fact that I woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground and had a minor panic attack imagining that I might be sitting in the airport for hours on end with my newborn waiting for my delayed flight to take off... yeah... despite those two minor setbacks the trip actually went off without a hitch.
Of course, I have acquired a bit of a cold since then so I'm pretty convinced that Sawyer is going to get it too and I've already warned Mike that the first time Sawyer gets sick I'm going to totally FREAK OUT. I will not be cool with it at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I will think he's dying or something equally absurd. Because, yes, I am crazy psycho overprotective parent. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is.
In any case, we're back in the greater San Diego area now, and I couldn't be enjoying the weather any more. I miss the fam. I do not miss the dreary gray skies and bone chilling cold. I currently have a trillion things to get done around the house and very limited time to do them, so I am not at all bored as I thought I might be.
Sawyer amazes me every single day with how fast he is growing and developing. Last night he slept 6 hours in one stretch. crazy! Then today was a huge day for him. Not only did he finally discover how to get and keep his fist in his mouth, but he also rolled over. twice. I'm sure he's quite advanced. In fact, I'm pretty sure I smell professional athlete in his future. Just saying.
And then... there's that smile. Does it get any cuter than that? seriously.
:)
Getting Sawyer here was a bit of an ordeal. Our (very young) pediatrician (who obviously has no kids of her own) told us at our first appointment that she wishes we would consider driving our one-month-old baby across the country instead of flying him.
....
Um. I can think of about a thousand reasons why driving a newborn baby across the country in the dead of winter is a bad idea right off hand. Her opinion sent us into a bit of a tailspin to say the least. Despite the fact that we got a second opinion and a third opinion (and a thousand other opinions from family and friends) and despite the fact that my gut told me that driving across the country with my newborn baby would be nothing short of my worst nightmare, that pediatrician sufficiently freaked the hell out of me, and I knew that I would be worried sick about the trip no matter what.
Thankfully, my wonderful sister did the plane trip with me since Michael had the task of driving the dogs back. The trip went as smoothly as it could possibly have gone, despite the fact that a lady with a cold who was blowing her nose on her shirt and sneezing freely into the recirculated air sat right in front of us AND the fact that I woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground and had a minor panic attack imagining that I might be sitting in the airport for hours on end with my newborn waiting for my delayed flight to take off... yeah... despite those two minor setbacks the trip actually went off without a hitch.
Of course, I have acquired a bit of a cold since then so I'm pretty convinced that Sawyer is going to get it too and I've already warned Mike that the first time Sawyer gets sick I'm going to totally FREAK OUT. I will not be cool with it at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I will think he's dying or something equally absurd. Because, yes, I am crazy psycho overprotective parent. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is.
In any case, we're back in the greater San Diego area now, and I couldn't be enjoying the weather any more. I miss the fam. I do not miss the dreary gray skies and bone chilling cold. I currently have a trillion things to get done around the house and very limited time to do them, so I am not at all bored as I thought I might be.
Sawyer amazes me every single day with how fast he is growing and developing. Last night he slept 6 hours in one stretch. crazy! Then today was a huge day for him. Not only did he finally discover how to get and keep his fist in his mouth, but he also rolled over. twice. I'm sure he's quite advanced. In fact, I'm pretty sure I smell professional athlete in his future. Just saying.
And then... there's that smile. Does it get any cuter than that? seriously.
:)
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