mustard stains

I just realized today as I tried to avoid a large glob of mustard on my shirt that I can't avoid spilling on my own belly. No amount of sucking in will avoid the inevitable belly-catch at this point. I guess I should just accept it and have a change of clothes available at all times (thanks to my sister Liz for taking this picture).

mother's week

So, although I am not a mother yet (I prefer to refer to myself as "host"), I have been very involved with the making of mothers this week. The baby business has been hopping, and I've been on nights, which seems to be when these babies prefer to come.

As I was helping to clean out my office at the university, I came across an old 1978 copy of "Spiritual Midwifery" by Ina May Gaskin and brought it home. This book is still in print and is a classic midwifery text, revolutionary even now. I'd read it many years ago and loved it, but as I was flipping through it I was struck again by the normalcy, beauty and ecstasy of birth itself. It was in this spirit that I attended a beautiful, inspiring birth last night. Life affirming . . . what a natural high.

"It does a man good to see his lady being brave while she has their baby . . . it inspires him."

--Ina May Gaskin

"Ladies in strong labor can get amazingly beautiful. It's okay to let her know this sometimes--it can help a lady's morale to know that she is beautiful when she is sweaty and struggling."

--Ina May Gaskin

your jaw will drop

This clip is a little long, but stick with it, you won't be disappointed. I'm not sure if this is Chinese ballet? Chinese acrobatics? Both? Something entirely new? Whatever it is, it certainly is astounding.