autumn

It is finally cool here and sunny still
In the subtropics
So I bought a new bike, blue with a basket in front and a baby seat in back for the girl
The boy has a Big Boy bike, white with training wheels

We rode over to the park tonight
It was beautiful, he rode all around in circles while she toddled up the steps and rode down the slide on her baby belly, laughing
Then afterward, the man came and we were a family, together, my favorite way to be
We went across the street to the PaiGu Mian place, fried pork and noodles
And ate the house special for dinner, each had our own plate, the baby eats that much, really, and it all cost about $4.50US
Nobody worries about wheat allergies dairy allergies etc., organic, grain-fed and whatnot
When it is that cheap

I saw a baby being born yesterday, I was there to comfort the mother, to breathe with her and to be with her in silent, joyful support
She was absolutely not afraid of anything coming her way
What a strong, amazing woman
Sitting up like a Queen in charge of her domain
Her baby practically flew out, grey and wrinkled and so little
Kleine kleine they breathed softly to her in admiration
As they are German
The moon was full, I saw on the way home from my taxi
And the tallest building in the world was dressed in its pink lights in honor of the new lady in town

The births that I have been to have been peaceful and natural
The mothers so brave and Knowing
That I am more inclined than ever to question how interventions and fear came to be a mainstay in modern obstetrics
I had no idea that it was this common for birth to be this good

It changes your life forever to watch a woman birth her baby with no fear

adventure

We are closest and happiest when we are in a new place
I always knew life would be an adventure with him
But it seems to be that as we get older, we become less prone to adventure
I'm not sure I'm okay with this

He is Mr. B and I am the wife of Mr. B but I just do not want to be a B at all so I never changed my name
Because I don't want to be his father's wife, and I don't want him to be his father
I know, I know
But it's true

Maybe the leaps of faith are still here, but not what I had expected
Daily loving, abiding, hoping, believing
True adventure of a lifetime

I want to be a yoga teacher, a midwife, a hospital chaplain, a writer
There I said it before the No came crashing down on each one