My sweet mom recently gave me a book of selected quotations and poems about conception, pregnancy and newborn babies.  One of the poems that I appreciated most is Dancing Baby by Laurie Lico Albanese.

I felt you dance into me.
Oh, some babies are born
of hot, wide passion;
others in a cool, momentary
indifference with untroubled sleep the
real reward.

But you danced in
with the moon waxed and
your daddy singing a love song
to the sky,
a song with my name and
yours ribboning through it
until there was a chain so
long, so strong, that
you had no choice but to
follow it, to join our joy,
to dance into my belly and
rest untroubled for
nine lovely months until you
were ready to sing your own
love song.

Today is our baby’s due date, which I’m not worried about.  I have an appointment with a midwife this afternoon which I scheduled last week knowing that I probably wouldn’t give birth early.  Actually, I’m feeling a little bit of stress about not being able to properly care for my son and daughter or get started on our home improvement projects (hopefully we will go to the settlement agency today and close on the house).  I honestly like that the baby is still inside me, unborn as it were, so that I can go to the pool and playdates at the park and sweep out the garage and rake yard clippings into a pile. 

Last night I asked my daughter to take some photos of my belly since I am now 40 weeks pregnant.  The baby put on a show by sticking her bottom out at a grotesque angle.  My daughter decided that the photos would be even cuter if her own feet were in them too.

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On Friday night my parents and my children and I went to a baseball game together.  The teams are made up of college players who come back to their hometowns for the summer.  My dad used to take my brother and me to the games when we were little.  I remember all the foul balls that we chased after and the chants to intimidate the visiting teams.  When the coaches would go out to the pitcher’s mound to discuss a strategy, we would yell, “Take ‘em out; Leave ‘em in; Take ‘em out; Leave ‘em in!”  And I remember buying candy from the concession stand.  Each game is sponsored by local businesses that give free tickets to their customers.  My family was invited by our Realtor.

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It was fun to explain the rules to them and see them cheer for our home team.  The game lasted until 10:15 that night, and the children were really wound up even after the drive home on the interstate.  This kind of activity definitely gets in the way of my best-laid plans for bedtime enforcement.  It seems like every night there is an excuse, especially on a summer weekend.  But they did have a great time as spectators at their first baseball game.

Uh-oh.  I almost forgot about my 52nd Fucking Floral Friday post.  While I would have liked to end the year with a stunner, I don’t have a very good photo for today.  This rose bush grows at the gate of the paddock at my parents’ house.

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This is a silver ring that I bought for myself when I was in high school or college.  I remember wearing  it as a college freshman (when I was, like most of my classmates, heavier than I should have been!).  I also remember that I dropped it off the top bunk onto the concrete floor and the purple stone has a little chip because of that.  I’ve been wearing it during my pregnancy because the wedding rings I usually wear are tiny and unforgiving of any weight gain.  I can’t even wear them if my weight fluctuates just 10 pounds, so of course I can’t when I’ve gained 34 pounds.

As of today there is a week left until our baby’s due date.  I imagine that I’ll continue to wear this ring for at least a few more months.  I’m grateful to have a pretty ring that can temporarily represent my committment to our marriage.

My children and I got summer haircuts on Thursday afternoon.  For my son and me, it wasn’t so dramatic because we just got the ends trimmed, but for my daughter it was a huge change.  At this length her hair doesn’t get any tangles so we aren’t arguing about combing or brushing her hair anymore.  Hooray!

It was 90 degrees at the park today.  Even when your hair is off your neck, that’s still mighty hot.

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The roadside yucca plants are flowering.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture, but the bank was steep and I had to hurry because a car was coming.  This Sunday is the official beginning of summer and Father’s Day!  Have a great weekend.

I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  Because my parents took my brother and me to the Lime Kiln Theater so many times when our neighbors Robin and Linda Williams were playing in the musical Stonewall Country, I sing that song to myself whenever I see quintessential views of the mountains or seasonal changes.  Anytime I feel emotionally overwhelmed by the beauty of our surroundings, the lyrics pop into my head.  How many consecutive summers did we drive to Lexington to see Stonewall Country?  At least six times, maybe as many as fifteen.  They say that the word Shenandoah is Native American in origin.  One quixotic, if not verifiable, translation of Shenandoah is “clear-eyed daughter of the stars”.

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. . . I hope to quit this world in Stone Wall Country
And as the years roll ’round
My bones will turn to limestone
And my soul will look down
On the blue haze hills of Stone Wall Country
And on the Valley green
To watch the golden fields of Autumn
Turn to Winter white and clean
And then blossom into Spring . . .

This is the summer that we are buying our first home, and it so happens that my husband has been living in the United States as a “resident” for five years.  So that means he is eligible for citizenship.  There are details and more details involved in both of these processes, but once we put some distance between the stress and worry and the outcome, I think the American flag will represent those milestones in our family’s journey together.  Happy Flag Day!

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The kitchen table at my parents' house today, June 14, 2009

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Here is a photo of my children knocking the petals off their granddad’s poppies.  I’ve got two more weeks of floral photos on Fridays to go!

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The first photo is of a bumble bee on a Rhododendron bush taken in sepia.  I am not sure why I thought that sepia would look nice.  The second photo shows the true color of the Rhododendron bloom.  This very large bush is located at the side of my parents’ house.

Today is my daughter’s last day of preschool.  It felt strange to realize that I have already packed her preschool lunch for the last time (because today’s lunch is pizza provided at the school).  I think since it was so successful this year, we will continue with the same style packed lunch once she’s in kindergarten.  We also brought home her nap bag yesterday with the pillow and blanket and stuffed unicorn because the school day ends early today and they won’t be taking naps.  I need to remember to bring home her indoor shoes and her extra changes of clothes.  It’s absolutely mind boggling that a year of preschool has gone by.  My overall impression is that it has been really hard on her and we’re both glad it’s over.

Have a great Friday!  Are you celebrating the end of the school year today as well?

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