Out of the woodwork
Wow. I'm not really very good at asking people for help, or being the one who gets taken care of, but this unexpected bed rest has really amazed me with the way people have stepped up to help. Not only have my parents made multiple trips out (to sit with me in the hospital, help me with laundry, run errands, etc.), but my mother and sister-in-law have both offered to come stay and help, and multiple friends have called to check in and give advice or sympathy or to offer to run little errands.
Friday I panicked a little - the baby could come anytime, and we didn't have so much as a diaper in the house. We had a sling, a onesie, and two pairs of booties, courtesy of wonderful packages from thoughtful friends, but nothing else. But then my mom came down, with things from her and her co-worker S and my Aunt K, and suddenly I had clothes and diapers and a sleep nest and blankets galore! Himself's friend L sent a blanket and a hat and a bib from Israel, M sent a blanket from Chicago, J emailed to say his knitting needles were busy with a baby garment, and A called to get our address right so she could send a mystery gift. My mother-in-law generously got us the carseat and stroller and an assortment of things we needed for feeding and diapering. My mother generously gave us the breast pump. Then online mama friends J and D descended on me like ministering hand-me-down angels yesterday, with a co-sleeper and a baby bathtub and a breastfeeding pillow. Suddenly, we are as ready as stuff can make us!
It's so amazing to have such supportive friends and family. I am awed and humbled by how they have just come out of the woodwork, without my even having to ask, when they are most needed. We are so lucky to be so rich in the love and caring of the people in our lives.
And as if to add joy to happiness, I got a letter Monday. There's something about good old-fashioned letters that email will never trump, for me, even though I much prefer email as a mode of regular communication.
And this letter - I mean, it makes me kick myself for not having sent out holiday cards every single year. Why did I wait so long? In 1993, in Tianjin, China, I had two of the best friends I will ever have - my roommate H and my friend WF - and I lost them both in the ensuing decade-plus. (H married, had a baby, and moved to follow her husband, while WF emigrated to Canada with his girlfriend - I saw him in Vancouver in July of 1998 and he moved the next month with no forwarding address. I haven't been able to find him since, though I've considered hiring someone who specializes in that sort of thing to do so.) On a whim, I sent H a card this December, to the last address I had for her (almost ten years old).
And she wrote back.
The postman apparently did some serious research to find her (god bless postal workers who go above and beyond) but my letter got there. Her son is seven, her career has changed, and God knows if we'll have much to say to one another now, but she was one of the most important people in my life at a very pivotal time and I was so happy to get her letter I cried. (Yes, pregnant and hormonal, but still.)
The squid is healthy (fluid levels are maintaining, and he is active), I am healthy (if still on bed rest), Himself is home from his travels, and we are loved, loved, loved. May you all be surrounded by such wonderful people as those that fill our lives.
Friday I panicked a little - the baby could come anytime, and we didn't have so much as a diaper in the house. We had a sling, a onesie, and two pairs of booties, courtesy of wonderful packages from thoughtful friends, but nothing else. But then my mom came down, with things from her and her co-worker S and my Aunt K, and suddenly I had clothes and diapers and a sleep nest and blankets galore! Himself's friend L sent a blanket and a hat and a bib from Israel, M sent a blanket from Chicago, J emailed to say his knitting needles were busy with a baby garment, and A called to get our address right so she could send a mystery gift. My mother-in-law generously got us the carseat and stroller and an assortment of things we needed for feeding and diapering. My mother generously gave us the breast pump. Then online mama friends J and D descended on me like ministering hand-me-down angels yesterday, with a co-sleeper and a baby bathtub and a breastfeeding pillow. Suddenly, we are as ready as stuff can make us!
It's so amazing to have such supportive friends and family. I am awed and humbled by how they have just come out of the woodwork, without my even having to ask, when they are most needed. We are so lucky to be so rich in the love and caring of the people in our lives.
And as if to add joy to happiness, I got a letter Monday. There's something about good old-fashioned letters that email will never trump, for me, even though I much prefer email as a mode of regular communication.
And this letter - I mean, it makes me kick myself for not having sent out holiday cards every single year. Why did I wait so long? In 1993, in Tianjin, China, I had two of the best friends I will ever have - my roommate H and my friend WF - and I lost them both in the ensuing decade-plus. (H married, had a baby, and moved to follow her husband, while WF emigrated to Canada with his girlfriend - I saw him in Vancouver in July of 1998 and he moved the next month with no forwarding address. I haven't been able to find him since, though I've considered hiring someone who specializes in that sort of thing to do so.) On a whim, I sent H a card this December, to the last address I had for her (almost ten years old).
And she wrote back.
The postman apparently did some serious research to find her (god bless postal workers who go above and beyond) but my letter got there. Her son is seven, her career has changed, and God knows if we'll have much to say to one another now, but she was one of the most important people in my life at a very pivotal time and I was so happy to get her letter I cried. (Yes, pregnant and hormonal, but still.)
The squid is healthy (fluid levels are maintaining, and he is active), I am healthy (if still on bed rest), Himself is home from his travels, and we are loved, loved, loved. May you all be surrounded by such wonderful people as those that fill our lives.
posted by The Stute Fish at 06:29
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