So... I'm 15 weeks pregnant. A few random thoughts and events:
-I volunteer at a street newspaper called Street Sense here in DC once a week (or so). If you don't know, a street newspaper is basically a non-profit newspaper that focuses on issues of poverty and homelessness, often sold by vendors who are or were homeless. The New York Times did an article on a variety of street newspapers. And they posted an audio slide show that is entirely about Street Sense--I can't make a link work for it, but it's great if you have a few minutes to watch it.
I started volunteering at Street Sense about a year and a half ago. I'd wanted to somehow get more involved in homelessness since we moved to DC. When faced with homeless people asking me for money on the street, or seeing people sleeping in doorways or on benches, I felt very overwhelmed. It was hard to know what to do. Some homeless advocates tell you not to give money in the event that your handout might inadvertently support someone's drug or alcohol habits. Then again, I always thought, Walt Whitman tells us, give alms to all who ask. And I remember the Bible story/verse about "doing unto the least of these." I also felt a lot of guilt: should I really be eating out at a restaurant when others haven't eaten all day? I've worked through a lot of that by now, through thought processes and, I guess, spiritual introspection that I'm too hungry to go into right this second, but in any case, I did find Street Sense. They needed office volunteers on Friday afternoons just at a time when I was spending every Friday afternoon in a funk, being bored and lonely. I still go (now on Thursdays, since I teach on Fridays this semester). Sometimes I feel too busy to go, but I'm always glad I'm there. It's a busy, crazy place, and kind of like a busy, crazy family.
If you can, read the article and watch the slide show.
-I turned in my thesis yesterday! Finally. It was both exciting, for obvious reasons, and anti-climactic. I walked to my four professors' office, alone, through dim hallways, and dropped of a copy of the thesis in their boxes. No trumpets, whistles, bells or flowers. Then I went to teach a class. Still, even though there is still one problem poem, it's a triumph and a relief. Now I have the thesis defense on April 23, and then till May 4 to make any changes I need to make and electronically submit the thing and be totally done with it. (If you're wondering, it WILL eventually be available to download through the UMD library.)
-Dean broke his arm last week. It was a bike accident: someone getting out of a taxi opened his/her door in his path, so he slammed on his brakes and flipped over the handlebars. He can't do much with his arm, obviously. It's sad for him; he's very active and now he can't play his guitar, cook, do much in the garden, or about a million other things. As for me, let's just say I have come to realize how much I take for granted all the dinners he cooks. If it had happened a few weeks earlier, we would have had to hire a nurse to take care of us.
-I go to the doctor again on Friday! I look forward to hearing the heartbeat again.
Oh, and it turns out I am Rh negative. Basically that means if my baby is Rh positive and our blood mixes, I make antibodies that could harm the baby. (Interestingly, my and the baby's blood doesn't actually mix unless there is some trauma. Isn't that wild?) If you're Rh negative, you have to get some shot at 28 weeks and then again at the birth to prevent the antibodies from forming.
It's fairly common--my mom was Rh negative--but I found out because a pharmacy called asking me to approve the co-pay for the shot to be sent to my doctor's office. It was upsetting, because I didn't really understand what it was for at first and thought something was wrong. Personally, I think the doctor should have called me to explain before ordering the medicine. It led me back to the question I've had since I became pregnant: am I going to the best doctor possible? I already switched doctors once. I just don't know. This doctor gets good recommendations, but he's a bit brisk, and I'm afraid we don't see eye to eye on issues of labor. I really need to talk to him more about labor. I've been reading this book called Pushed; it makes me want a home birth. But then again, what if something goes wrong?
Sigh. It's a rainy day here, and the rain is making me lazy. I'm starving, so I'm going to eat.
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