At first I mis-counted and thought this was installment 3 of this series. I’m just a little bummed to see it’s part 4. OK, I’m past it.
What I would have missed if I’d gone into labor yesterday.
• The opportunity to get lots of stuff done—clear some of the junk out of RB’s room, go to […]

“Some women having second or subsequent babies have periods of progressing contractions that come and go for days before they settle into a continuous pattern.”
–from Penny Simkin’s The Birth Partner
Penny, I’m sure you’re a very nice person, and your book is exhaustively detailed and helpful, but it’s 5 in the morning AGAIN, so if you […]

What I would have missed if I’d gone into labor today:
• (Leftover from last night) Getting tucked into bed by my daughter (yes I went to bed before she did) and hearing her sing “Shepherd, Shepherd, Where Are You Going?” while brushing her teeth.
• Seeing her reprise that song and others during her preschool Christmas […]

Thank you, dear readers, for your good thoughts. Arrangements are definitely being made for the trip to Laborland, and I thought I had a ticket for last night’s train, but I guess I didn’t read the fine print closely enough. I tried to get on board and was booted off at the next stop.
All day […]

And now for our first installment of a daily-ish series—
What I Would Have Missed If I’d Gone into Labor Today.
• A morning devotional with the staff in which I learned the wonderful story of King Wenceslas (actually Duke of Bohemia). The legend is that he would bring food and firewood to the needy at Christmas. […]

“Are you STILL HERE?!?!”
Yes, I am. Yesterday at church, three people asked me that—before the 8:30 service had even started. I told the last person that everyone who asked me that would have to pay me a dollar. You know that good-natured tone that also means business? I think I nailed it. Nobody else asked […]

First off, I have a poll going on the homepage—which baby will arrive first, the reverendbaby or Baby Jesus. Make your predictions now on this matter of great theological import. You guys didn’t do too well on guessing the sex of the baby, although your recommendation that we do Sesame Place rather than the beach […]

a sermon
(Those of you who have the RevGals Advent book will recognize some of this!)
At the beginning of our service we sang one of my favorite hymns, “The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came.” Verse three describes Mary as such:
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said.
Ah, gentle Mary—mild, […]

this beautiful place and my beautiful RevGals, who transcend both “Blog” and “Pals” to be real and abiding friends.
I scrolled slowly through the blessings and prayers, but can only read a little at a time because, well, my monitor keeps getting really blurry…
But something so wonderful should be savored anyway.
Advent Blessings to you all.

talk to me about the waiting…
mostly I crouch, head bowed, eyes closed
against the soft black, safe in liquid suspense.
but even in the nothing there are constant somethings:
a fluid symphony, simmering, rolling, rushing past;
a metronome beating out the time,
world without end—and a voice:
hushed murmur, burbling laugh,
distant yet irresistible.
and then, at certain times,
I am bathed in […]

I feel better today–more grounded. We have the beginnings of giblet gravy reducing on the stove, pumpkin/pecan pie filling sitting in the fridge, and cornbread cooling on a rack at the table where I sit. Excuse me while I grab a bite (it’s for stuffing, it’ll never be missed).
Tonight I fulfilled the stereotype of the […]

It’s a busy time in the reverendhousehold. I fluctuate between being surly about the ginormous pile of stuff we have to do, and eerily calm in spite of it. You should see the pathetic excuse for a nursery we have. Ugly white walls, ghastly curtains left over from the previous occupant, a crib with stuff […]

R and I had our hospital tour last night.
Pre-rant caveats (does it invalidate the rant to do this? oh well): It’s a fine hospital. All the rooms are private, which isn’t the case everywhere. The tour was informative, and it’s exciting to take this step, which makes the birth seem even more real, and imminent! […]

A couple Sundays ago, our accompanist stopped me between services and asked whether she could have a ride to our all-staff meeting the following Tuesday. Of course. We made our arrangements and I thought nothing of it.
When I arrived at her house she called out her front door, “C’mon in, I’ll just be a few […]

it used
to be quite
the specimen,
if i may say so:
a shapely oval,
not too deep,
pierce-able,
in fact. but now,
alas, the whole
topology’s changed:
a round gaping hole that
exposes a fleshy pink core
where i was bound, tethered
to my mother for dark months
’til at last i broke free; and now
i ponder this peculiar mountain
zenith, this reminder that my
body is not mine anymore.
we are […]

Blog Your Own Blessingway…
Below is one of the meditations I wrote for the RevGals book. It is based on a sermon I wrote for the preaching journal two years ago and then later preached in my own congregation. For those of you wondering about what a Blessingway is, here is a partial answer, particularly in […]

today is the twenty-seventh of October.
Twenty-seven Octobers ago, I was in first grade. (I’ve skipped a lot of years, eh? The memory gets fuzzy.)
I don’t remember much about October of that year. I don’t even remember my Halloween costume, but I do remember the big Halloween carnival that took place in the front courtyard of […]

it’s happened before, but sooner this time.
i’m twangy as a country song,
a loose woman, swaggering through honky-tonk joints:
the bottom stair feels rickety in my stupor;
the phone falls, hits my shoe,
and two-steps across the wood floor;
a plate drops from my hand,
its contents sprawl drunkenly in my lap.
everything slips away now, except the one
thing, deep in my […]

As I said, I’ve always loved the month of October. There have been some memorable Octobers and some mundane ones over my 33 years. So I had this strange idea for a blogging discipline this month—take the day, count back that number of years, and write something about October of that year. For example, on […]

Tonight I was feeling the urge to blog but not knowing what to write. R said “write about the new bed, and our big baby.”
So here goes.
The New Bed
R and I have been married for almost 11 years. Every night of those 11 years, except when we have been traveling, we have slept side by […]