150 Steps...In the Present Moment

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. Weird. It's not like me. We're just kind of living while we're waiting for whatever happens next in this adoption. As such, apparently I've been a bit off the grid in terms of the blog and  Facebook . My days = working, hanging out with the husband, eating well, exercising (yes, I have dropped 13 pounds...that's the equivalent of 52 sticks of butter for anyone else out there who is trying to lose weight), watching the Olympics, going to the library, reading, and spending quality time with a very grumpy cat. Living. And waiting. It isn't so bad. People - colleagues and friends - have been very kind. They always ask, "So, what's new with the adoption." "We're just waiting right now." What else can I say? Their kindness reminds me that we're waiting. As much as I try not to calculate how long we've been waiting or try not to think about how much longe...

OK, I admit it. I am addicted. To the Winter Olympics. I feel so very sorry for our Plus One in future years. The winter Olympics will come around again and my little  Schmoopie  is going to desperately want my attention or she's going to need something from me (like food, a bedtime story or a bandage to cover the horrendously bleeding gash in her leg...) and without looking away from the television I'm going to say something horrible like, "Not now, Honey. Mommy is busy watching her fifth straight hour of curling."* Poor kid. I was so tired last night, but I just could not, would not drag myself away from the men's figure skating (long program.) And now today I am feeling a bit zombie- ish . And it won't be any better tonight... Ice dancing! *I am, of course, kidding. I might look away from the television for a minute to deliver the bad news to the kid that Mommy isn't available...

So, I've been in this funk. And I think that I'm coming out of it. But it's weird because it just kind of crept up on me. Sneaky-like. Here I thought that I was doing SO WELL...being so calm and cool about the adoption and being perfectly OK with the waiting and then... WHAM. Funk. The funny thing is that now - after I've had some time to review the footage - I realize that the funk is not about the adoption. Or that I'm in the midst of my Living Healthy for the Little One program (which is going really well, by the way.) For a little while I thought that it might be the combination of those things. Nope. Here's what it is: I am not certain where my life is heading...professionally. This may sound strange a coming from someone who is about to take time out of the professional world to delve into motherhood, but it really isn't all that strange. I really do need to think about what's next. Career 2.0 What is it going to look like? I...

I ran into an acquaintance, L, at an event this weekend. Someone I hadn't seen in a long time, and someone I don't know particularly well. We are chatting and filling each other in on bits of our news as people who don't know each  other  well are apt to do at social gatherings. Of course, it comes up in conversation that Chris and I are adopting (because that is the biggest news in our lives right now and I share it with everybody.) L is surprised to hear about our adoption. She shares with me that she and her husband are just now after a year and a half of trying to conceive considering moving in the direction of adoption, although she tempers that statement by saying, "We're not sure yet and a bit overwhelmed in thinking about it." No doubt. She explains that they've been looking into some adoption options. I'm guessing from her  description  of children who have pretty high needs that she and her husband have been looking at adopting throug...

My sparring partner is old, very solid and thoroughly grizzled. He's seen a lot of fights. Been punched by a lot of people. Looks like his sparring days are numbered. Goes by the name of "Ringmaster." He quietly waits for me in the same spot everyday swaying gently on his chain. I'm not intimidated. On go my gloves. My very own gloves. I don't use the ones provided by the gym. And then we begin. I approach Ringmaster in my boxer's stance, hands up protecting my jaw. Then I let loose with a right  jab  and another right  jab . jab-jab   jab jab-jab   jab   jab-jab The sound my glove makes each time it connects with my sparring partner is deeply satisfying... WHUMP . Ringmaster sways drunkenly under the onslaught of my mighty right. I change my stance to offer him my left - my weaker side - but don't give him anytime at all to prepare before I let loose with multiple left jabs... jab-jab   jab jab-jab   jab   ...

Following up on my last post about concerns re: child trafficking in Haiti... I've been following the story about the American Baptists who were arrested as they tried to cross into the Dominican Republic with 33 children. Initially, it seemed like there were just issues of communication and the general consensus was that they were trying to do a good thing, though certainly going about it in the wrong way. Now, as the 10 Americans are jailed and charged with kidnapping and criminal association,  other bits of information are trickling out  that seem to raise additional questions: Group leader Laura Silsby has said they were trying to take orphans and abandoned children to an orphanage in the neighboring Dominican Republic. She acknowledged they had not sought permission from Haitian officials, but said they just meant to help victims of the quake. -------------------- Several parents of the children in Callebas, a quake-wracked Haitian village near the capital, to...