Sunday, April 27, 2008

birth assister lady

the awkward title is due to the awkwardness of the decision that i'm considering.

*whispers shyly*

I'm considering the path of the midwife


it's strange for me to say that for the following reasons:
1. For years now, I've felt the need to adopt, if I ever decide to become a parent, more than creating and birthing my own child.
2. I recently started a new career so I hesitate to move too quickly but feel very drawn to at least doing the research to decide if it's the right idea.
3. Being a midwife ain't no joke yo! To choose such a necessary and ancient role is really life affirming and scary and wonderful and daunting and did I say scary?

it's absolutely natural for me to say that for the following reasons:
1. I've felt like a childless parent since my late teens - I've had ideas about child rearing since I can remember. People tend to ask me if I have kids when we talk about theirs because I say things like "Oh, he's four? That's such a fun age - differentiated but not as difficult as two and three" and "Well, teenagers can be like that - just be patient and she'll come around"
2. All of my favorite facial clients are pregnant women and new mothers. It's not a bias as much as just a joyful treat for me to be able to pamper a mother to be. I love hearing about the changes in lifestyle, the falling in love with her baby, and all of the physical conditions - good and bad.
3. I've been wanting to do something medical and serious and this seems to be the most joyful option I've considered.

in starting my research, i came across this blog post that references the project of a woman i met once or twice when i lived and studied art, science, ayurveda and philosophy in fairfield, iowa and who shares many friends of mine: One Million Mothers Creating a Miracle
the premise is that they're asking for one million people to donate just $1 to help support Ibu Robin Lim's clinic Yayasan Bumi Sehat

Please look around the site and, if you are so inspired, help in whatever way you can. Especially if you are going to Bali and can take the clinic much needed supplies that they rely on but can't accept thru the mail because of "outrageous customs fees."

At my job, we are given monthly challenges with occasional cash prizes for meeting goals. Last month I met a goal and was given $125 - $25 in cash and $100 in a visa check card. I gave the entirety of the visa check card, and will give any future visa check cards to Yayasan Bumi Sehat thru the paypal account here. I hope that inspires you to help them out as well.

Big thanks go out to Joel for turning me on to Yayasan Bumi Sehat and whose website has a sweet candid photo of Ibu Robin right on the home page.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

what if

if i wear flowers and vanilla
and see your skin in my milky tea

if i paint my nails the way you would
and wear my clothes as if they are yours

if i dream of you when out of body
and spend waking hours longing for those dreams

if i share your soul
with the rest of the family
but not so much this body

will i still be part of us
will we still take journeys together
make plans and strategies
etherically working the physical
enjoying existence
not looking at a goal
but simply be-ing because
it's
what
we
do

|||||||

have i forgotten a plan
that was laid
aeons before

am i stuck
longing
for something we planned
i would simply appreciate
when i could

i don't remember home
as much as i'd like
but i know i want to go there
to re-read the plans
to re-feel the task
to be re-minded that this is a joyful existence

but i do go there
without my body
regularly

sometimes you are there with me
re-minding me of the sweetness

the body waking is then oh so bitter

|||||||

what if insanity really does run in the family
and these are just the rantings of
a mad mind
that simply cannot capture
the ease of this place, this body, this task, this connection

i'm sure i've got plenty of time
to work it all out

isn't that the plan?

Saturday, April 05, 2008

4 reasons why I'm excited

1. I just found a set of glow-in-the-dark rosary beads on the ground in the parking lot and they are still rubber banded and in a little zip lock bag. I've always thought the glow-in-the-dark Christian artifacts seemed a little strange and now I have some of my own little-strange-Christian-artifact to make art with!
The bag has marks on it like it got rolled over with a car. That makes me giggle.

2. Yesterday I whacked my arm on the counter at work (again) and promptly put arnica cream on it and took some arnica pills. A few hours later, I did the arnica again. Then I went home and ate lots of fresh pineapple.
Arnica and the bromine in pineapple are supposed to keep bruises from discoloring and hurting.
Today, the bruise is half what it was the last time I whacked my arm into the counter and it doesn't hurt at all. Yay for homeopathy and healing with foods!

3. The fresh pineapple I ate last night was AMAZING! We ate a quarter of it raw and put the rest of it into the braised chicken broth to cook and add it's flavor. Fresh pineapple cooked with chicken is really tasty - a completely different fruit than the common canned pineapple one finds in chinese food and on Hawaiian pizza. YUM!
The chicken turned out amazingly too!

4. We have two pints of ben and jerry's in the freezer waiting to be devoured. Call me over 30 but I'm so excited for ice cream and a DVD tonight.