Tender Mercies

I knelt beside my bed this past weekend, talking with my husband, when all of a sudden I felt a gentle "poke, poke" inside of me. Could it really be? I had been anticipating feeling the baby's first movements for the past week or so. I just knew it would be soon, but I didn't want to get my hopes up since many pregnancy websites say that first time moms may not feel movement until close to 25 weeks. I was 16 weeks and 4 days. Well, sure enough, the next day I felt some additional small waves of movement. It wasn't just gas or digestion, for when I listened to the heartbeat with my Doppler, I was able to associate the movement I heard from the speaker with the poking sensation.  I think I will enjoy these gentle proddings right now before they begin to be larger and more uncomfortable. As I approach the halfway mark of this pregnancy, I am filled with excitement and the ever deepening realization that I am actually pregnant and have a huge responsi...

It's been nearly 10 years since we first met in California. What started out as just seeing each other once in a while at the ice rink turned into a friendship where we saw each other 6 days a week--encouraging and motivating each other through jump repetitions and new spin variations or coaching little ones how to skate on one foot. There were laughs, tears, sweat, food, and silly pictures involved. We had one thing in common, and that was figure skating.  And yet, despite the high school graduations, cross-country moves, college, vet school, marriage, and time zones, we have still stayed friends. It was the day-in-day-out bonding we had at the ice rink back in 2005-2008 that helped us get to know each other on a deep level that could withstand life's changes.  Even now, nearly a decade after moving apart, we still text, send handwritten letters, and talk on the phone occasionally.  We aren't sole mates. We might have different religious perspectiv...

It's a common phrase for women to ask their friends, "what can I do to help?" The usual response to this inquiry is something along the lines of, "oh I'm doing alright, you don't need to help with anything," and then both parties go back to whatever they were doing in their day.   But yesterday I asked for help from my lovely friend (who also happens to be my visiting teacher*). It had been a rough day for me and I didn't have all the motivation or energy to make dinner all by myself, and I knew that If I asked her to help me make dinner when she stopped by for a scheduled visit, she would be willing and we could talk and laugh and get dinner into the oven in half the time it would have taken me to do it alone.  My happy face after a delicious dinner was made by the help of a friend.  I had so much fun spending time in the kitchen with her, cutting eggplant and garlic, whisking eggs, and simmering a fresh pot of tomato sauce on the...

This was my first Thanksgiving that I hosted, which meant that I cooked the turkey. It kind of seems like a promotion in the kitchen or something. I've only cooked one other turkey in my entire life and that was only for my husband and I so the stakes were not high. This year, however, we invited friends over, so the stakes were a teensy bit higher, though not really because they are practically like family. Most Thanksgivings include lots of travel, cooking, family, noise, and commotion, and near accidents as well as love, laughter, and memories. We just were not feeling up to that this year, so we opted out of traveling and crowds and stayed home, sharing dinner with some close friends. Except for the near accident part. Everything was going well with the turkey. It was dressed and seasoned and in the roasting pan. After it had only been in the oven for 2 minutes we started to see smoke and then the three smoke alarms in our apartment started to go off, including the main ala...