Wonder

I'm trying something new this morning.  My daughter follows a blog that does this "Five Minute Friday" thing, which has intrigued the heck out of me.  I'm gonna give it a whirl...

The premise...write for 5 minutes about the "given" topic.  No worries of editing, syntax, etc.  Just type...

This Friday it's WONDER

Here goes...

I wonder what their thoughts are this morning, this morning after the arrival of their new baby girl.  I wonder what the neighbors in the upstairs apartment must have thought, listening to primal groans, and grunts as She pushed her baby out in her bathtub, in those usually quiet, still wee morning hours.  I wonder what goes through the thoughts of a newborn after that incredible journey.  I often think about those newborns and I wonder...what must they be thinking, feeling, etc right now.  Do they have thoughts?  Do they process what just happened?   It's quite a change from what they are used to, isn't it?  I wonder if people get it, how wonderful and awesome birth is, how it truly is the space between heaven and earth.  I wonder if folks understand that I get to see the most spiritual of moments, and how that affects me?  It is WONDEROUS, what I get to do; greet these new babies, touch their little bodies, bless them, smell them, love them.  I am blessed.

And now my 5 minutes are up.  That was quick.

Sleeping with someone else...

Last night I slept with a young married couple.  Well, slept isn't exactly what I did, but I was in a large king sized bed with another man and his wife!  Hee Hee... At a birth...

This mom was so wracked with fear of "What If", that she could barely function.  EVERYTHING was a potential problem and I mean EVERYTHING!

I knew I was going to have to work hard with this one from the first time I met her.  Picture a highly educated, well read, professional woman from Chicago, she wants the lo-down skinny about every little thing going on in her pregnancy, wants to know every lo-down skinny about you and your life as well, (seriously!  It was quite funny, but that's another story).  She has a very competitive nature and was really interested in the birth outcomes and stats of her Bradley Class peers.  (Who had the quickest birth, who had the best support person, who was breastfeeding, who was a screamer and who was a silent birther, etc. etc.)  I swear she'd read every single book published on pregnancy, natural childbirth, and breastfeeding.  She had it ALL figured out and knew exactly what to expect and how she would deal with it.   She had her Early Labor regimen planned; she and Darling Hubby would leisurely stroll with their two Golden Retrievers along the Spokane River, enjoying the late afternoon sun.  They'd laugh and kiss and be filled with excitement for the arrival of their little girl.  Afterwards, when they returned to their condo, they'd have a celebratory glass of champagne and snuggle onto the couch to watch old movies, still waiting patiently for labor to progress...

Uh Oh!

Now enter..."Curve Ball"...

"Be Humbled"

I'm not sure how to blog this.  I want to wax poetic and wane wistful, but this is too low down and gritty for that.

I don't want to go into "The Back Story" to set this up, but how do you measure the intensity of feeling, the bewilderment of actions without a bit of Back Story?  

I'll be brief.

Packing

Lists...
Stacks...
Check-offs...
Boarding Pass and itinerary...
Muttering...
Puttering...
What to bring, what to leave.
"Honey, don't forget to..."
"Where'd I put my ..."

You'd think I was leaving for a month instead of a week.  Sheesh!!!