A Long Hello

It seems time for another post. I don't have any belly pictures today, but I can assure you: it's huge.

We had a very busy June. Matt is working nearly full time and taking two Summer Classes at ACC, which involve much welding and the writing of some very smart and funny essays. (The most recent essay was a thousand word exploration of Django's worthiness as a pet.) I spent mornings running a summer camp at a local elementary school with two other TAP Teaching Artists called World Adventures, in which we transformed different parts of the school into six different countries and developed little performance pieces with the kids for each country. On performance day, we had a huge audience of parents and relatives that journeyed through the school with us, following a giant, migrating bird through jungly hallways from one country to another. It was great fun, but hard work, and I'm glad it's done with. In the afternoons, I was transitioning into my new job as TAP's Development Associate, writing grants and familiarizing myself with what needs to be done to keep money flowing into the organization in a steady stream.

I also have been busy helping out with the writing center project that I've been working on for the past two years. In June, we had our first fundraiser, which went very well. Andrew Bujalski hosted a screening of his newest film for us and made an appearance at the after party, where we were able to gather more donations for our upcoming workshop for kids next week. The project is really growing - for awhile it was just me and the two other Founders meeting monthly at a local restaurant, and now we have an active Board, a sizeable roster of volunteers, guest teachers, and all sorts of people helping out with everything from web design to mailing out registration forms. It's very fun and satisfying to watch it grow.

We also managed to sneak in a quick trip to New England last month. For awhile, we had been planning to attend our friend Brian's wedding in New Hampshire, and, although we could not be away from Austin for as long as we wanted, we managed to sneak in a very quick trip to Portland, Maine and another trip to Vermont to see Matt's family there. We were in Portland for less than 24 hours, but really wanted to do some more exploring there and try to get a feel for the city. That's a lot to ask in such a short amount of time, but we did manage to drive around some of the neighborhoods there, explore the waterfront, and do a quick ferry ride to Peaks Island before meeting our friend Ben downtown and heading over to New Hampshire together. I'll post some pictures below.

The wedding was amazing. Brian's family went above and beyond in their duties as hosts, and the whole weekend there was tinged with the uncontainable joy of our group of St. John's friends being together for the first time in a year (or more, for some) and the nearly instant nostalgia created by knowing that our time there would be brief and the time before our next reunion would be long.

Our trip to Vermont was also short and sweet, filled with lots of good food, conversation, and a warm and restful end to our trip - most likely the last before the birth of our daughter.

And speaking of her, and the home front, and the present moment: she and I are headed to another prenatal visit with Dr. Neyman this week. Unless there's something amiss with our routine tests, there won't be much to report. She is moving constantly and growing larger everyday - her movements are visible from the outside now, and Matt has been able to see her pushing against my belly a few times. We signed up for childbirth classes that we'll attend for part of July and all of August - I decided I needed something more than the clinical classes offered by my OB's office and something less than a Bradley class, and so I chose a class at Conscious Birthing Austin. They are very supportive of natural childbirth but also supportive of "the compassionate use" of pain medication and the hospital environment, which is perfect for us. The woman who teaches the class told me that she's not as concerned with the environment in which a couple is planning their birth, but concerned with the inner experience and teaching techniques for deep and sustained "coping" with whatever might happen during labor and delivery. It sounds like an ideal class, and I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

I'm also looking forward to Matt learning more about the labor stages and what to expect at the hospital . . . what I'll be going through, what he might go through. Right now, I think he thinks he just gets to hold my hand for a couple of hours and then get to his favorite part: cutting the cord. I've been trying to get him ready for something possibly more intense than that. Here's a typical exchange, as of late.

Me: Matt, if shit hits the fan while we're at the hospital, you have to be ready to step in and advocate for me if I'm out of control.
Matt: I know. I'll just tell the doctors that if anything bad happens to you, I will kill them.
Me: But we don't want the people taking care of us to get upset! We have to keep them on our side. Before you freak them out, can you please tell them my blood type and my drug allergies?? C'mon, what's my blood type?
Matt: A positive.
Me: Good! Now, what am I allergic to?
Matt: Deez nuts?
Me: I hope you know the baby can hear your voice now.

Pictures of Matt and I in Portland, members of the wedding party, and a lady slipper in Vermont: