Campout in the Bedroom

I'm sure you have before now heard the term 'baby brain'. When a woman is pregnant, due to hormones and lack of sleep, she frequently experiences absent-mindedness and forgetfulness. I assure you, it's very disconcerting to suddenly realise you don't know why you are where you are. Why am I in the kitchen? Did I come to here to get something? to clean something? to eat something? I had to resort to lists, lists of even the simplest of things. Grocery list (I could always remember what we needed before), to-do list, list of things that need a list made. I had always believed that this condition would go away after delivering my baby, but for me that was not the case. I still keep a to-do list on my desktop that I look at every morning so I know what I need to accomplish that day. My forgetfulness does seem to be getting somewhat better, but I still have the occasional episode, as the following story relates:

Wednesday is the day I wash the sheets. If I do it the same day every week I'm less likely to forget to do it. One time, however, I forgot all about it, but not until after I had put them in the washer. So when bedtime came, my only set of bed sheets were soaking wet in the washing machine. Should I stay up for another hour while they dried? Those of you who have experienced the extreme fatigue of a newborn know that this wasn't an option. I needed sleep! I have to credit Rob with the solution- sleeping bags.

It felt like camping, complete with the faint smell of smoke. I'm almost tempted to 'forget' the sheets in the washer again, just to have the fun of camping in the bedroom.

Virus

I think I have a virus. Before you run away screaming 'swine flu' I should say it's not me that's sick, but my computer. And it's my fault. I downloaded a video player a couple weeks ago (the only thing I've ever downloaded) and my computer had been getting progressively worse ever since. It started as a small inconvenience- quicktime stopped working - but then all video players quit, then images, now I'm lucky if I can get into my email. What I'm really worried about, though, are my stories. I can no longer access them. I have several in various stages of progress, one nearly done. I can't lose them! I've poured hours and weeks of my time into them and, good or not, I am very attatched to them.

Rob can reformat my computer; kill the virus along with everything else. But what then?

Sharing the Love

Thanksgiving is my second favourite holiday. Traditionally I spend it with my family, and eat way too much of the delicious food we all help prepare. This year was a little different. We had friends over, instead of family, and the weather made it feel more like Christmas than thanksgiving, what with all the snow accumulated on the ground and still coming down.

Weather notwithstanding, we plowed forward. We risked cooking a whole turkey this year: our first time. On the outside packaging, it said "may be missing parts" and I though, 'oh, maybe it won't have all its innards or something' but no- when we opened it up we discovered a one-legged bird. Poor thing, it didn't stand a chance. But it sure was tasty! We ate it with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, greek salad, carrots, fresh home-made buns, and apple crumble for dessert. Mmm!

Another tradition is to go around the table while we eat and everyone says one thing for which they are grateful. It's hard to limit it to one thing, don't you think? I have been especially blessed this year. I have a beautiful, healthy, happy daughter who makes every day wonderful; a loving husband who works and goes to school to help support our family; the best larger family anyone could ever dream of (I love them all so much!). And that's just the beginning of the list! I thank our Heavenly Father every day for his loving blessings, for giving me so much. I look at the beautiful earth around me, and my wonderful family, and wonder how anyone can doubt His existence. Something so perfect does not happen by chance!