Lasts and Firsts and Random thoughts

There has been a lot of recent activity in our little family. If I were a consistent Face-booker, or any kind of Tweeter, I would have had hundreds of updates on what I was doing, and all 5 of you would have eagerly followed!

1) I nursed Anna for the last time this last Thursday. I tried to memorize it-- that feeling of closeness and the noises she makes and the way her hand reaches up and plays with my hair while her eyes close. A year ago, when Anna was underweight, and I struggled so much with nursing her, it seemed impossible that we would ever come this far. My own personal little miracle. And then I shut the door to that chapter of my life and reclaimed my body as my own-- at least for a little while!

2) I have been feeling for a little while that I want to be a part of something beyond just motherhood. This is not to say that there is not plenty to keep my busy just with Anna, but I also know that God gave me desires and skills apart from child raising. The quandary has always been how to balance my commitment to my family with my desires to contribute in some way to societal functioning. And I am unwilling to accept the answer that "my contribution will be through my children" because what if my mom said that about me. At some point, I have to be accountable for the time I have and the gifts that I have been given. So I have started training to volunteer with the Eastside Legal Assistance Program. This way I can volunteer as my schedule allows and still keep up my legal skills.

3) I know nothing about the law. I realized this after my first evening shadowing a real attorney. I may technically be licensed to practice the law here in Washington, but I feel about as competent as a lobster. Family law differs so much from state to state that the few days I spent studying family law in preparation for taking the bar prepared me merely for that-- taking and passing the bar. I realized that I need to become a law student again if I ever want to feel confident in my ability to ever represent a client or advise someone intelligently on a proper course of action.

4) My favorite ritual of the day is eating breakfast with Anna. I pour myself a large bowl of frosted mini-wheats, and I pour Anna a smaller bowl of frosted mini-wheats. She gets the whole milk. I get the 1 percent. I bring our bowls into the family room, get a few napkins, a bib, set Anna on my lap and we eat. Mom gets a bite, and then Anna gets a bite. It can get a bit messy (especially when I started teaching Anna how to drink the left over milk from her bowl) but I love it. I always knew she would be a cold cereal junkie, just like her mother!

5) A recent lesson on dishonesty sparked a discussion between my husband and I about the age old practice of bringing outside candy into a movie theater. 9 times out of 10 I bring candy with me. I guess my logic is that I have paid for the right to see the movie and what happens to be in my purse at the time I enter the theater is my business. Richard contends that the signs saying "no outside food or drink" are a form of contract and that theaters have the right to refuse us business if we fail to comply with their policies. My knowledge of contract law is that there must be consideration which is bargained for to make a binding contract. I give up valuable consideration (aka money) for the right to see a movie. But there is nothing on the movie ticket which states that I cannot bring outside food or drink into the theater-- therefore, I did not bargain for that exclusivity. Is a sign on the doorway to the theater enough to bind me into a policy which I did not pay for nor do I agree with?
Essentially, I like bringing candy into movies, and I really, REALLY don't want to think that I am violating eternal laws here.

6) All of the Halloween candy is gone. No, not the candy the supermarkets are stocked with (it is all still there in abundance), but the candy I bought to fill our glass canisters at home. Rolos, raisinettes, chocolate covered peanuts, caramels, and candy corn....all gone. Only took about a week! And we haven't had a single trick or treater yet. * sigh*

7) I get to be a princess for Halloween! In a semi twist of fate, I found a brilliant frog costume for Anna at the local Goodwill. Naturally, I thought of "The princess and the frog." So now my mom is shipping my pepto bismal pink prom gown up here to seattle so I can be a princess and Richard can be my villain. Last week I spent a half hour in a dollar store comparing cheap plastic crowns to see which one would be the most "princessy." I chose the larger tiara with more plastic jewels. Go big or go home.

More thoughts later!