This Ro(a)mantic Life: We interrupt this series

Body: in sickness and in health

I won't lie; this body and I have had our issues with each other for many years. Body image -- sure. Physical and mental overextension -- comes with being a Type A kind of girl. I still struggle with these things, so they show up from time to time in my writing.

More recently, illness, pure but not simple, has added itself to the mix in a multi-system sort of way. And the challenges in figuring out exactly what's gone wrong are many. As problems have revealed themselves in the last few years, beginning with reactive hypoglycemia in late 2008, I've documented them here, partly to gain a little clarity on managing complex conditions but mostly to give voice to vulnerabilities I feel but don't normally share with anyone face to face. Better out than in, they say, right? (Oh yes, humor is one way I deal.)

The links below cover the different angles I've examined (and from which I've been examined) within that experience.

Travel: neither here nor there

When the person you're married to lives two time zones away, you log a fair number of frequent flier miles. And if you blog about commuter relationships, you log quite a few posts en route too.

Since we're no longer in separate places, I blog less often from airports. But we do travel -- together now! -- which is much more fun to write about. So in addition to thoughts on our years of commuting, the links below cover the places we've been as a pair and, in some cases, the adventures that have happened on the way.

Writing: the long and short of it

Why do I do it? Good question. Maybe it's not so much that I like to write but that I have to write, even when the words refuse to stick to the page. Believe me, I've tried doing other things like majoring in biochemistry (freshman fall, many semesters ago). Within a year, I'd switched to English with a concentration in creative writing and wasn't looking back.

After graduating, I taught English for a few years and then worked as an editor, which I still do freelance. In 2007, I applied and got into an MFA program at a place I like to call Little U. on the Prairie. I finished my degree in 2011 and have been balancing tutoring and writing on my own ever since.

The following links cover the writing I've done about writing: process, content, obstacles, you name it. It's not always pretty. But some part of me loves it, even when it's hard. And this is the result.

Heart: family and friends

I'd have a hard time explaining who I am without being able to talk about the family I grew up in as well as the people I've met beyond its bounds. But even with such context, it's not easy! In the simplest terms, I'm a first-generation Asian-American who has spent most of this life caught between cultures. That, of course, doesn't even begin to describe what I mean to, but there's my first stab at the heart of it all.

That's what this group of posts is reserved for -- heart. The essential parts of my life whose influences I carry with me, for better or worse. The links below cover what I've written as I've learned how these forces work within me, for me, against me, in spite of me. They anchor me even as they change me, and they keep life interesting.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

We interrupt this series

... for a small update. One that looks to weigh about 4 pounds and seems to think an early arrival might be in his future, per yesterday's ultrasound and non-stress test (both unscheduled, but I woke up with signs that indicated a call to the OB was warranted).

Holy hydration and couch-boundedness, we are so not ready for this baby yet!

Everything to do with the baby himself looked good at the perinatologist's office -- he happily performed his little breathing exercises for us to see, wiggled and squirmed with abandon, and kept his heart rate at a thoroughly reassuring level through contractions I was apparently having fairly regularly but could not yet feel. Today -- well, I can feel them, but some of that is surely from heightened awareness.

I'm home for now with strict instructions to be a lazy slob -- the perinatologist's words, not mine! -- all weekend. Since we'll be at 35 weeks on Monday, my regular OB won't stop labor if it starts in earnest at this stage of the game as the research indicates infants of this age do better out rather than being forced to stay in. So D is running loads of laundry and helping me cook some extra meals (I season, he does the heavy pan lifting). Both tasks were in the plan for the weekend already, but now it feels extra important to make progress on each just in case ...

Time to refill my water glass and go focus on something else. We'll be back to our previously scheduled program shortly (I hope!) with part 3.

Oh and um, Dr. Sis? Marketing Sis? That shipment of baby stuff from the lovely shower you threw me in Boston -- I'd send that sooner rather than later if you can swing it. Please and thank you ...

6 comments:

Nitewriter said...: How exciting. I remember right before the first one that we thought we weren't ready. And we weren't. Nobody ever is. But you know, it worked out just fine. A few stressful moments "Oh God what do we do now - he won't stop crying" sort of thing. But we muddled through and the kids are now 32 and 33. We did good at the parenting thing from the get-go and so will you! Being clueless is scary but it all works out. Baby will be resilient and so will both of you. Once you hold that little baby for the first time, everything else will just be a non-issue. :-) Take care. Can't wait to hear the news!; January 6, 2013 at 4:52 AM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: Thanks, Nitewriter :). By ready, I'm just talking about having a clean sheet and mattress protector on the crib! The crib didn't even have a mattress in it until last Tuesday ...; January 6, 2013 at 1:37 PM
BigLittleWolf said...: Thrilling! (Easy for me to say, you're thinking.)

I had one late (10 days), and the other early (about 2 weeks). It's all good!

No one ever feels ready on the first one, CT. But you figure it out as you go... Really.

xo; January 6, 2013 at 2:15 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: BLW -- we're thinking 35 weeks is a wee bit earlier than ideal for this little guy as it will be likely he'll have feeding problems and a NICU stay. But 37 weeks? That's considered full term. We'll take it, if he'll stay put just until then :)

It is thrilling that he's almost here. And hard to believe!; January 6, 2013 at 7:03 PM
Good Enough Woman said...: CT, we're on the road, so I can't make a proper comment, but please know that I am excited for you and thinking of you. More soon!; January 8, 2013 at 1:44 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: Hi GEW! Thanks -- and safe travels to you :D; January 8, 2013 at 4:24 PM

Saturday, January 5, 2013

We interrupt this series

6 comments:

Nitewriter said...: How exciting. I remember right before the first one that we thought we weren't ready. And we weren't. Nobody ever is. But you know, it worked out just fine. A few stressful moments "Oh God what do we do now - he won't stop crying" sort of thing. But we muddled through and the kids are now 32 and 33. We did good at the parenting thing from the get-go and so will you! Being clueless is scary but it all works out. Baby will be resilient and so will both of you. Once you hold that little baby for the first time, everything else will just be a non-issue. :-) Take care. Can't wait to hear the news!; January 6, 2013 at 4:52 AM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: Thanks, Nitewriter :). By ready, I'm just talking about having a clean sheet and mattress protector on the crib! The crib didn't even have a mattress in it until last Tuesday ...; January 6, 2013 at 1:37 PM
BigLittleWolf said...: Thrilling! (Easy for me to say, you're thinking.)

I had one late (10 days), and the other early (about 2 weeks). It's all good!

No one ever feels ready on the first one, CT. But you figure it out as you go... Really.

xo; January 6, 2013 at 2:15 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: BLW -- we're thinking 35 weeks is a wee bit earlier than ideal for this little guy as it will be likely he'll have feeding problems and a NICU stay. But 37 weeks? That's considered full term. We'll take it, if he'll stay put just until then :)

It is thrilling that he's almost here. And hard to believe!; January 6, 2013 at 7:03 PM
Good Enough Woman said...: CT, we're on the road, so I can't make a proper comment, but please know that I am excited for you and thinking of you. More soon!; January 8, 2013 at 1:44 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...: Hi GEW! Thanks -- and safe travels to you :D; January 8, 2013 at 4:24 PM

Blogroll

Archives

Body: in sickness and in health

Travel: neither here nor there

Writing: the long and short of it

Heart: family and friends

Recommended reading

Saturday, January 5, 2013

We interrupt this series

6 comments:

Posts by date

Thesis

On commuter relationships

Posts by label

Saturday, January 5, 2013

We interrupt this series

6 comments: