Transitions–The Lack and The Presence

The weather has turned cold, as it often does right after my birthday. The event was on Sunday, during which I spoke in church. And performed with the choir. And visited some friends whom we love to hang out with. We had apple crisp for birthday cake. I got lots of boring adult birthday booty: thigh-high and knee high socks, books from lots of different people, an apple corer and onion goggles, Gattaca, a green zipper flower, and money. I didn’t get anything for my birthday that was related to the baby growing inside me; the kid will get its own birthday. I’d rather celebrate my own.

Of course, people still mentioned it, just because they’re all so excited when they see me that they can’t help it. And I had a baby present gently given to me right before church by a stranger who was sad she couldn’t make it to the baby shower I’d invited all the girls at church to. I made it a point not to open it on my birthday–not to figure out who it was from.

But this week, during the change to cold weather that only means a drastic change in my life, I’ve been reading someone else’s take on birth. I’m reading all his posts–going back countless pages in his archives to catch up– but my favorites so far are his post on the elimination of baby gear and his worries on the psychological effect pink-for-girls will have on his own newborn.

During the last week or so, we’ve made progress in our accumulation of the necessities: there’s a crib here, and a carseat. I’m happy with the crib because it’s smaller than standard size and it folds up quite handily so we can stash it under a bed or in the back of a closet. And it’s got wheels on the bottom of it. Granted, it’s also black (which is gorgeous), height adjustable (to three different settings), but of cheap quality. How was I supposed to know its quality when I added it to a registry? The carseat is convertible so it should accommodate every kid we have until each one reaches seatbelt age/weight or until the carseat wears out or expires.

We’ve also ordered a stroller that I’m thrilled with. And it’s evident that I’m in preparatory mode again. It was nice not to think of birth and babies and material things for a day, though.