Libby From the Block

Honestly, I have been at a loss lately with blogging material. I feel like my life is a slow-motion Lifetime movie about the most boring pregnant lesbian in the neighborhood. There is a whole lot of nada going on around here. I am in such a stalemate period that it's difficult to get inspired to think about interesting blog topics. Reading through my own archives, I realize that I was once a somewhat witty and thoughtful blogger- waaay back in the day. I don't know when the blog-tide turned, but I have become somewhat of a wet rag of the blogosphere. Blarg. So, my apologies. I have gone round and round with what to blog about, and here is what I have to offer (let me warn you, its not much). Feel free not to read. Or comment.  Really.


1.  Working in the restaurant has become a constant game of making the same following three statements: 1.The first week of July...... 2. It's a girl....... 3. You want to tell me your (insert birth story, parenting story here)? Interesting....
It's nice, really. People are very sweet, and even though they've been waiting to get a table for over an hour, they can't yell at the pregnant hostess, can they?! When our POS machine went down during a busy lunch a week ago, I was scrambling around from table to table, apologizing like crazy and comping everyone's drinks. I managed to turn some really pissed-off customers into pools of melted goo with my big belly and the "I'm the owner and I truly apologize" speech. Worked like a charm. Thanks baby. I'm thinking after she's out, I can just carry her around the restaurant in a carrier, just to keep this streak going. Nothing like using a baby as customer service collateral.

2. I went back home to Iowa last week, where my Aunts and Grandma threw me a surprise baby shower. It was so incredibly thoughtful and lovely. I am blessed with the family I have.

3. I am trying to enjoy down times, alone and with Chefy. We went to see Ani last week (Loved it! Chefy kept looking at her watch) and have been spending time going out to nice dinners, going on dates...etc. Time to enjoy the moments we won't be having for a while. In fact, today I am blogging, meeting with a friend this afternoon, and enjoying the sunshine. Like I said, most boring pregnant lesbian on the block.

4. As I enter the third trimester, I of course have been thinking a lot about the birth of this baby. My yoga teacher is a mother of two in her forties. She has a frank yet gentle way of reminding us pregnant students that someday soon we will be pushing a baby out of our vagina. She uses this phrase often, and I love it. That's exactly what we'll be doing, isn't it?
While I was in Iowa, my mom took me out to the new fancy hospital in the suburbs of Des Moines. She showed me the new labor and delivery suites at this insanely beautiful hospital (she's a pediatrician). I laid down in the birthing bed in one of the luxury suites (complete with calfskin leather recliners and DVD players), and the reality hit me. This will be me, in three months or so. Lying in this bed, pushing a baby out of my vagina. Now, before you say "duh Libby" to yourself, think about moments you've had like this in your life. Sure, you're pregnant and you are thrilled and excited and can't wait to meet the baby. And then one day you realize that this is possibly going to be the biggest day of your life so far, and that its course and outcome are unpredictable, and wham! Reality strikes. I am still harboring a lot of excitement and even thrill about birth, but I am also now feeling like it's time to get serious about this birthing business. Time to study.

5. It was really refreshing for me to go back to Iowa and spend time with all of my female relatives, talking with them about babies, birth, and mothering. While the general mentality around children and parenting in San Francisco is one of, shall we say, preciousness (and don't get me wrong, having this baby and being a parent is a gift I am not taking for granted AT ALL), the attitude around having children back in the Midwest is more one of.......hey, it's just what you do. You just have a baby and then you love it and take care of it. Many have more than one, or several! But babies and mothering are a big part of life that is treated in an unassuming, humble way. There's more of a feeling of "I love my child, and I hope s/he grows up to be happy and healthy," whereas here's it's more like "My child is gifted and amazing and will grow up to be president, get it?" I guess going back to my roots was a good reminder of what I think it means to be a mother to a child.  It's a simple job, no? To love your child and give it support and guidance and hope it turns out alright. I want it to be that simple and realize of course that it won't be. But remembering that children don't need thirty-thousand dollar-a-year private schools, to learn three languages before they're five, and go to Tahoe and Hawaii for their vacations, is worth remembering as I enter into parenthood for the first time. Isn't it?

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