So, our adventure begins. I’m going to try to write a little, every day, about what we’re experiencing, but I’ll keep it short today and blame the jet lag.
Well, here we are
April 6th, 2011Welcome, Liam
November 1st, 2010Hello little Liam! We are so glad to have you. The month since you came into this world has been the busiest one I’ve had yet. So quickly you have shown us that you are your own person — the tools and tricks we learned with your brother are not the same as those we need for you. You are so wonderful: sweet, accepting, aware . . . happy. And you sleep! Hooray and thanks for that! 
Your arrival was so anticipated. Even before we knew you, we loved you. We couldn’t wait for the exciting moment where you would join us. And you so promptly arrived right on your due date (I can tell you’ll be taking after me in that regard). Your actual arrival was maybe a bit TOO exciting, however. The moments after your birth were the most frightening and stressful of my life – a strange experience when mixed with the joy of having you here. It was so hard to see you struggle so much in your first moments of life. I wanted so much to hold you and comfort you, but I couldn’t. In that first moment, I already loved you so much it amazed me. Our first days together were hard. I wanted peace and comfort for you, but those were hard to come by in the first few days. You were certainly loved, though! I was there with you every moment I could be. And you were so loved by everyone. Your family came to visit even though they couldn’t see you. Everyone supported us however they could so that we could be with you. And the wonderful nurses and doctors loved you and took care of you when we couldn’t be there. Although it wasn’t the start I would have planned for you, you could not have been more loved or better cared for, which makes me happy and incredibly grateful.
How life change really begins.
August 24th, 2010What gets measured gets managed.
–Dr. Peter Drucker
This is an incredibly powerful statement. It’s why step one in any effort to lose weight should be to keep a food log…and it’s why that simple act is so often the turning point for people. If there’s any aspect of your life that is out of your control, or simply missing, you can make a great stride towards changing that fact simply by measuring it.
Do you feel you’re wasting your life away in front of the television or computer? Is your weight out of control? Do you smoke and wish you didn’t? Does being fit seem attractive, but getting there impossible? Start recording your behavior. Just doing it for a single 24 hour period will be illuminating. The knowledge you gain might encourage you to continue for a week, and then maybe three. If you do something consistently for 3 weeks, it becomes a habit.
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To my dear Benjamin, on your second birthday
August 18th, 2010My darling child, I love you so much. With every day that goes by, I am so grateful that you are in my life and that I have the wonderfully good fortune to spend so much time with you every day. You are truly an amazing joy to be around. You are so smart and strong and loving. I love you so very, very much. It is hard for me to believe that you are two already. It is startling how rapidly the time passes. You are quickly leaving your babyhood behind and becoming a wonderful little boy. (Of course, you are still my baby – I still call you that, and I suspect that will be a hard habit for me to break, so forgive me in advance.)
An opportunity to make a difference…
July 23rd, 2010Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, is matching all donations made by midnight Sunday (his birthday) on his page at DonorsChoose.org. The upper limit is a total of $100,000, so this is a real opportunity to make a difference. Please check it out, seriously. Donate whatever you can, and then spread the word yourself.
To My Son, on the occasion of your first birthday
July 23rd, 2009My darling son, it is shocking to me that an entire year has passed since the morning you came into this world. Your first year! What a wonderful one it has been, but it has passed so very quickly. Already you are walking, and starting to talk to us. We only understand a few of your words so far (“mamamama” — which can either mean me or food, “dadu” — for your daddy, or sometimes your grandma, “da!” — for “I want that!”) but you are working very hard on beginning to communicate with us (and we are working very hard to keep up). It amazes me how much has changed in the past year. One year ago today was only our third night home with you from the hospital. I’m very proud of myself, and of your dad — we’ve learned an awful lot in the past year, and we’ve gained a great deal of confidence. But mostly, I am proud of you. You are growing into such a lovely, sweet, smart little boy. It is hard to believe that is has been a year already.
Why you should dance the Argentine Tango, and how to go about learning it.
June 5th, 2009How to turn yourself into James Bond, or his femme fatale, in two words.
What’s all the buzz about Argentine Tango and why should you care? It’s simply the best legal way to enter a world of fiery passion. Anyone can do it. Young, old, fit, round, man, woman, tall, short…anyone.
“Let’s Tango”
Those two words raise the ambient temperature, turn a man’s blazer into a tuxedo jacket, and transform a woman’s little black dress into a long satin number slit to the hip more surely than ever did, “shaken, not stirred.”
Excited yet? You should be. Read on to learn how you, yes you, can learn to undergo that metamorphosis at will.
A Life Coach’s Review of the Movie, The Matrix, Starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne
April 10th, 2009Learn How to Punch Through Walls, Leap from Building to Building, and Dodge Bullets….While Eating Popcorn
Are you stuck in the rat race? Is the biggest question in your life Who Moved My Cheese? If you have a spark of life in you, and want to rise above the conscious level of a rat, read on, buy yourself a copy of The Matrix, and jump to the next level.
Benjamin’s Birth
October 12th, 2008I had a lot of mixed feelings coming up to my induction. I was very excited about the impending birth of my son, but I was a little bit disappointed to have missed out on the experience of going into labor on my own. Leading up to the night I was to go to the hospital (July 17) I kept hoping I’d go into labor spontaneously, but it didn’t happen. There was, of course, a lot of anticipation and excitement anyway. I was honestly a little relieved at not having to worry about my water breaking in public, or going into labor and not being able to reach anyone, or having my baby on the side of the Dulles Toll Road in rush hour traffic. Once I accepted that I wasn’t going to go into labor on my own, I started to hope that once the induction had been started, the Cervadil alone would be enough to start my contractions, so that I would at least have some of the experience of going into labor spontaneously.
We went to the hospital around 8:30 Thursday evening. We were shown to our room — lucky number 13. I’m not a superstitious person, but it actually occurred to me to ask for a different room. It seems to me that maybe they should skip room 13 on the labor & delivery floor, kind of like skipping floor 13 in hotels. I decided I was being silly, though, and joked a bit about being in room 13 coupled with the full moon! I sat around for quite a while, waiting while Dan went and checked us in officially. Eventually, the nurse came in, hooked me up to a bunch of monitors and got the induction officially underway by inserting the Cervadil, at around 9:00. (That part wasn’t very exciting, though, because nothing really happens at that point — it’s a bit anticlimactic.) The nurse took a medical history that took FOREVER. It wasn’t that big of a deal for me (just kind of boring) but I can imagine it’s not a lot of fun to go through that for someone who already is in active labor. When the nurse checked me, I was the same 1 cm dilated I had been at the doctor’s office the week before. I was disappointed — I had been hoping that I would be one of those fortunate people who show up at the hospital halfway to having a baby without even knowing it. No such luck!
To My Son
July 30th, 2008There is no way I could have known what it would be like to bring you into the world, and into my life. In just one moment, everything about me changed. My priorities shifted. You became the center of my universe.
I look at you and I can’t believe the love that I feel for you. I love you completely, and without any conditions or requirements. I will love you every day for the rest of my life. You don’t have to do anything, be any kind of particular person, or accomplish anything for me to love you or to be proud of you. Unconditional love is something that I now understand, because I have it for you. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I love you more than I knew I could love (and I’m pretty good at loving!). You are perfect, exactly as you are.