There really is nothing like waiting on a baby, maybe especially for those of us who are big planners. We also do many processes around here that span more than a few hours, such that I keep wondering if I should start more things. Should I soak corn to make polenta? Should I start peppers fermenting? Should I soak and dehydrate pecans? Should I get apples going in the dryer? In all those cases, I decided to proceed and those projects are wrapped up. Then the biggest project of all wrapped up just after 5 p.m. today - I closed my office door and have no particular plans to return to it before 2016. I will continue to work, from home, until Spark arrives but it will be nice to do that in the comfort of our home (and my pajamas!). I tire of leaving every day not being sure if I'll be back and I was just starting to get the "you're still here" comments.
My thoughts and emotions have been dominated in the last few days by my readiness or lack thereof for this next stage of the journey. I feel very strongly that I can't possibly have been pregnant for 9 months. It just feels like the time has flown by. And it seems that the feelings Jason and I sometimes still have that we are just "playing house" have returned with extra strength. I'll look at the changing table all set up or at the birth supplies sitting and waiting to be used and have this funny thought that goes something like, "I wonder who all that stuff is for?" I've had one line of a song that Jason sang for me recently playing over and over again in my head, and I've requested to hear this every night until the baby. The line, "love comes when you are ready, love comes when you're afraid" resonates with me right now. There are ways that I couldn't feel more ready for this baby - I feel like our family is at such a wonderful place and are eager to welcome this new family member. And then there are other ways that no amount of time could prepare me for the adventure of birthing our fourth daughter here in our home and embarking on motherhood again with this new little person. But ready or not, the time is upon us!
We have felt surrounded by many others who are excited to meet this little gal and have joined us in preparing for her entrance and celebrating who she already is in our family. I got a very sweet offer recently from one of the students I work with who is also an artist. She offered to do a belly painting and I accepted, as I like finding ways to make each of my pregnancies unique and memorable. This definitely added some memorable moments. We chose a box turtle for a number of reasons, but the one that I like the most is the idea that a turtle emerges from its shell when it feels safe. I trust the same will be true for Spark and we certainly hope to have a warm, inviting, welcoming space ready for her when her time to emerge arrives.
I found the sunshine particularly welcome today, after 4 plus days of clouds, wind and rain. Over the past 10 days or so we have measured about 7 inches of rain in our rain gauge. No wonder everything felt 100% saturated when I went out to pick some parsley, tea, basil and chives the other day. The rain in many ways was a blessing, as it encouraged us to stay put inside and chip away at some "rain work" projects that were not getting any attention on sunny days. I know we have no hope of "catching up" before the baby, but I am feeling more space not just in our schedule but also in my head after the last few days. We did go out in the drizzle and harvest peppers and chop up the plants and then dig our sweet potatoes. Seeing the low 40's in the forecast upped the urgency we felt to get that crop out of the ground and curing - it's one of our most precious! So there are about 250-300 lbs of sweet potatoes on drying racks in the 3 season room (with a space heater to keep it hot and dry in there). I'm excited about that! The several bushels of peppers we've been trying to off load are not quite as exciting to me at this point. Some are going in the compost, a bunch have been given away, we are eating them at most meals, and I may still freeze a few more.
Speaking of harvests and food processing, I must make a confession. I lied in the last blog post. I should probably never say that I'm sure I'm canning the last of something! The day we chopped up the pepper plants we also did the trellised tomatoes. I was not expecting so many green tomatoes. So Mom and I ended up canning a huge amount of green tomato curry. It's nice to see so many easy meals on the root cellar shelves for this winter! The only tomato plants left standing on the property are cherry tomato plants. Jason got most of the rest of the squash in today, so the main thing remaining is corn harvest and some grains. We'll need some more sunshine to keep drying things out! We have a bunch of cover crops to get in yet and it would feel great to get the garlic planted, but that may just happen with a little one in the house!
For now I need to wrap up this blog post. Our (current) youngest is slowly melting down - lack of liquid in her system, a six hour playdate and the upcoming transition may all be contributing factors. One of these days, I'll actually write a blog post again without interruption and even be able to read through it after drafting it. Hmmm, in a decade or so? I don't want to end this without noting what a lovely time we had having my folks around in their quarters all week. They seemed to refamiliarize themselves with their space quickly and it was enjoyable to watch them feeling comfortable there. The girls were happy to enjoy a sleepover upstairs one night and we enjoyed a birthday dinner made by mom on Jason's birthday. We look forward to more similar times! Well, the next time I write, there is very likely to be some Spark news to report. Stay tuned!
My thoughts and emotions have been dominated in the last few days by my readiness or lack thereof for this next stage of the journey. I feel very strongly that I can't possibly have been pregnant for 9 months. It just feels like the time has flown by. And it seems that the feelings Jason and I sometimes still have that we are just "playing house" have returned with extra strength. I'll look at the changing table all set up or at the birth supplies sitting and waiting to be used and have this funny thought that goes something like, "I wonder who all that stuff is for?" I've had one line of a song that Jason sang for me recently playing over and over again in my head, and I've requested to hear this every night until the baby. The line, "love comes when you are ready, love comes when you're afraid" resonates with me right now. There are ways that I couldn't feel more ready for this baby - I feel like our family is at such a wonderful place and are eager to welcome this new family member. And then there are other ways that no amount of time could prepare me for the adventure of birthing our fourth daughter here in our home and embarking on motherhood again with this new little person. But ready or not, the time is upon us!
We have felt surrounded by many others who are excited to meet this little gal and have joined us in preparing for her entrance and celebrating who she already is in our family. I got a very sweet offer recently from one of the students I work with who is also an artist. She offered to do a belly painting and I accepted, as I like finding ways to make each of my pregnancies unique and memorable. This definitely added some memorable moments. We chose a box turtle for a number of reasons, but the one that I like the most is the idea that a turtle emerges from its shell when it feels safe. I trust the same will be true for Spark and we certainly hope to have a warm, inviting, welcoming space ready for her when her time to emerge arrives.
I found the sunshine particularly welcome today, after 4 plus days of clouds, wind and rain. Over the past 10 days or so we have measured about 7 inches of rain in our rain gauge. No wonder everything felt 100% saturated when I went out to pick some parsley, tea, basil and chives the other day. The rain in many ways was a blessing, as it encouraged us to stay put inside and chip away at some "rain work" projects that were not getting any attention on sunny days. I know we have no hope of "catching up" before the baby, but I am feeling more space not just in our schedule but also in my head after the last few days. We did go out in the drizzle and harvest peppers and chop up the plants and then dig our sweet potatoes. Seeing the low 40's in the forecast upped the urgency we felt to get that crop out of the ground and curing - it's one of our most precious! So there are about 250-300 lbs of sweet potatoes on drying racks in the 3 season room (with a space heater to keep it hot and dry in there). I'm excited about that! The several bushels of peppers we've been trying to off load are not quite as exciting to me at this point. Some are going in the compost, a bunch have been given away, we are eating them at most meals, and I may still freeze a few more. 
Speaking of harvests and food processing, I must make a confession. I lied in the last blog post. I should probably never say that I'm sure I'm canning the last of something! The day we chopped up the pepper plants we also did the trellised tomatoes. I was not expecting so many green tomatoes. So Mom and I ended up canning a huge amount of green tomato curry. It's nice to see so many easy meals on the root cellar shelves for this winter! The only tomato plants left standing on the property are cherry tomato plants. Jason got most of the rest of the squash in today, so the main thing remaining is corn harvest and some grains. We'll need some more sunshine to keep drying things out! We have a bunch of cover crops to get in yet and it would feel great to get the garlic planted, but that may just happen with a little one in the house!
For now I need to wrap up this blog post. Our (current) youngest is slowly melting down - lack of liquid in her system, a six hour playdate and the upcoming transition may all be contributing factors. One of these days, I'll actually write a blog post again without interruption and even be able to read through it after drafting it. Hmmm, in a decade or so? I don't want to end this without noting what a lovely time we had having my folks around in their quarters all week. They seemed to refamiliarize themselves with their space quickly and it was enjoyable to watch them feeling comfortable there. The girls were happy to enjoy a sleepover upstairs one night and we enjoyed a birthday dinner made by mom on Jason's birthday. We look forward to more similar times! Well, the next time I write, there is very likely to be some Spark news to report. Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment