Got news today at regularly-scheduled pre-natal appointment that, unfortunately, I have developed a sudden onset of pre-eclampsia -- which is, mostly, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. This can diminish or damage the functionality of the placenta and cause stress for the baby in utero and/or during delivery. Fortunately, the baby's heartbeat was fine during the check today, and an ultrasound from 2 weeks ago showed that my amniotic fluid and placenta both looked in "good shape" to last the rest of term.
Nevertheless, my midwife put me on bed rest this weekend, with lots of fluids; and, we'll be going back to her office on Monday to check my blood pressure again, as well as visit the super-duper perinatologist's office Monday afternoon for another super-duper ultrasound to check on the baby. In the meantime, Ken and I bought a DIY blood pressure checking gizmo to use this weekend to check my blood pressure a couple times per day. FYI - Blood pressure reading tonight was lower than my readings in the office at mid-day today.
I'm also spending a lot of time mentally and energetically encouraging my cervix to soften -- if it were "riper," my midwife would've set about inducing me into labor today. Delivering the baby is the only "cure" for pre-eclampsia. As it currently stands, even if we had induced contractions today, my cervix isn't soft enough to accommodate dilation -- and, we would've headed toward "failure to progress," and an emergency C-section. Apparently, the non-softening cervix thing is more common among very young, first-time pregancies and among the 35+, first-time crowds (yours truly).
Sigh. This development upset me, because it can ultimately necessitate an emergency c-section, but we have a plan, and I'm emotionally okay now. Things will be what they need to be. I figure Audrey just wants to wait to be born on a single-digit date... !
I'll update with the latest after our Monday appointments. In the meantime, wouldn't it be great if I spontaneously went into labor naturally this weekend...? Everybody think, "oooh, I bet Lorie's in labor RIGHT NOW!"
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Butt humps and Terms of Endearment
Today, I had a "Terms of Endearment" moment. Remember that movie with Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger? Early in the movie, the filmmakers set up the mother-daughter relationship by showing Shirley Maclaine anxiously waking her sleeping infant to make sure that she was okay.
Well, today, I feel different somehow -- strangely, more comfortable than I have been in weeks. And, then I noticed I hadn't felt Audrey move in a while. And, then I started thinking, 'how long since I felt Audrey move?' and then, 'why don't I feel Audrey moving?' And, then I had Ken put his hands on my belly to see if he could feel her heartbeat. Well, neither of us could tell anything definitive from that. Then I grabbed my belly to sort of shake it around, like 'hello in there?' 'Anybody home?'
Before today, my belly's been so sensitive to the touch, that I certainly haven't poked or prodded myself -- but, I went at it this morning, pushing a little here, lifting a little there. Hell, I gave Santa a run for his money, grabbing both sides of my belly and jiggling. Flashes of complete irrationality flared in my head. 'Is she okay?' 'What if her umbilical cord has gotten wrapped around wrong while I slept or something?' 'Did I feel her move after I ate cereal this morning?'
I sat on the couch, with furrowed brow, and Tom climbed up onto my lap and started purring. And, then I felt Audrey's reassuring butt hump move under my skin. Very slowly, like, 'MOM, I'm trying to sleep in here, stop bugging me.'
Okay, sorry, just had to make sure you weren't like, dead or something. Agh. Whew.
Well, today, I feel different somehow -- strangely, more comfortable than I have been in weeks. And, then I noticed I hadn't felt Audrey move in a while. And, then I started thinking, 'how long since I felt Audrey move?' and then, 'why don't I feel Audrey moving?' And, then I had Ken put his hands on my belly to see if he could feel her heartbeat. Well, neither of us could tell anything definitive from that. Then I grabbed my belly to sort of shake it around, like 'hello in there?' 'Anybody home?'
Before today, my belly's been so sensitive to the touch, that I certainly haven't poked or prodded myself -- but, I went at it this morning, pushing a little here, lifting a little there. Hell, I gave Santa a run for his money, grabbing both sides of my belly and jiggling. Flashes of complete irrationality flared in my head. 'Is she okay?' 'What if her umbilical cord has gotten wrapped around wrong while I slept or something?' 'Did I feel her move after I ate cereal this morning?'
I sat on the couch, with furrowed brow, and Tom climbed up onto my lap and started purring. And, then I felt Audrey's reassuring butt hump move under my skin. Very slowly, like, 'MOM, I'm trying to sleep in here, stop bugging me.'
Okay, sorry, just had to make sure you weren't like, dead or something. Agh. Whew.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Waiting...
Went to midwife today. Got poked and prodded. I've gained a pound since last Friday - it's all baby. Audrey has "dropped," her little head is now resting inside my pelvic bones. While this is progress, and I'm happy about that - oy, it's a sensation that really grabs your attention whenever you sit or, especially, stand up.
Talked with a local friend on the phone last night. She asked me what I was doing this weekend, and my answer was, 'waiting.'
That's pretty much my constant state of being presently - I'm waiting. And I'm hungry a lot.
I'm glad I could share this meaningful blog entry with you all. :)
Talked with a local friend on the phone last night. She asked me what I was doing this weekend, and my answer was, 'waiting.'
That's pretty much my constant state of being presently - I'm waiting. And I'm hungry a lot.
I'm glad I could share this meaningful blog entry with you all. :)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Snap, crackle, pop!
It's 6:30 a.m., and the siren song of a bowl of rice crispies called me out of bed. So hungry this morning!
BIG belly - I think I've discovered my first stretch marks. Actually, I know I have; I'm just in denial. The midwife thinks Audrey is about 6.5 pounds in there. We both think she'll come earlier than April 6th... Let's hope, b/c oy! my whole torso itches pretty much all the time, and I don't know where/how else I can expand to accommodate her getting much bigger! :)
My lifelong friend, Ora, visited me this weekend, and it was great. We met over 20 years ago in Paris and became fast friends on an impromptu weekend trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco. I've got the photos somewhere - all blue eyeliner (with matching blue mascara), sequined tops, and big hair.
It was so fabulous to have so many loooong conversations this weekend -- instead of the must- cram-an-update-into-a- 5-or-10-minute-phone-call-while-picking-up-or-dropping-off-her-son-
or-oh-shoot-I-gotta-go-back-to-work- or 'damn, my cell phone reception just crapped out,' or whatever, you get the idea.
On Friday night, we had dinner at Chateau Marmont (famous, iconic hotel off Sunset Boulevard that was built in the early 1920s and is a celebrity hangout) and sat one table over from cult film director John Waters ("Hairspray," etc.). We also saw actor Jason Statham (starred in action flick, "Crank" last summer) and some misc. tv personalities. The celeb sightings were a bonus; I took us there b/c I really love the architecture of the place (art deco meets European gothic castle), and the food is good - high pricey, but not exhorbitant.
On a completely different subject, thank you, thank you to you fabulous people who commented on my earlier post - both on the blog, itself, and via email. I really appreciate your thoughts, encouragement, and support. I wish I could convey more eloquently how they truly touched my heart and comforted me, but this simple thanks will have to do.
Since my earlier posting, Ken and I have learned that great friends of ours from Austin, Ari and Terri, might be game to pursue a sort of "co-housing" with us - i.e. the four of us with our kids (their two, our one) renting a duplex together, to start with. The idea could expand into sharing gardening and childcare/animal care activities, recycling efforts -- basically, looking for ways to pool our resources to diminish our ecological "footprint" together, as well as foster more neighborly, "intentional family,""village-ness" in our day-to-day lives.
Over the next 3-6 months, we'll all be looking at whether to maybe move to Minneapolis, MN., Spokane, WA., Madison, WI. or for Ken and me, maybe back to Austin, TX. Ari and Terri currently still reside in South Austin, but they're open to the possibilities of other areas -- Terri's mom lives in St. Paul, in fact, I think. If we (all) moved to the Twin Cities area, Ken and I would be within an easy day's drive from my brother and his three kids in the far west Chicago suburbs...
The draw to moving back to Austin is definitely there, b/c we were (and are) certainly blessed with some great friends there; yet, on the brink of parenthood, I find myself feeling the pull of my own midwestern roots/imprint. And, Texas is more like the Midwest than anywhere else I've lived, but it's TEXAS - with its own personality and culture. I enjoyed its personality and differences while I lived there, but like I said, at the moment, I'm feeling a nostalgia for four seasons, sledding in the winter, maple and pine trees and lilacs.
Well, another bowl of rice crispies is beckoning me from the kitchen, so I'll sign off for now. :)
BIG belly - I think I've discovered my first stretch marks. Actually, I know I have; I'm just in denial. The midwife thinks Audrey is about 6.5 pounds in there. We both think she'll come earlier than April 6th... Let's hope, b/c oy! my whole torso itches pretty much all the time, and I don't know where/how else I can expand to accommodate her getting much bigger! :)
My lifelong friend, Ora, visited me this weekend, and it was great. We met over 20 years ago in Paris and became fast friends on an impromptu weekend trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco. I've got the photos somewhere - all blue eyeliner (with matching blue mascara), sequined tops, and big hair.
It was so fabulous to have so many loooong conversations this weekend -- instead of the must- cram-an-update-into-a- 5-or-10-minute-phone-call-while-picking-up-or-dropping-off-her-son-
or-oh-shoot-I-gotta-go-back-to-work- or 'damn, my cell phone reception just crapped out,' or whatever, you get the idea.
On Friday night, we had dinner at Chateau Marmont (famous, iconic hotel off Sunset Boulevard that was built in the early 1920s and is a celebrity hangout) and sat one table over from cult film director John Waters ("Hairspray," etc.). We also saw actor Jason Statham (starred in action flick, "Crank" last summer) and some misc. tv personalities. The celeb sightings were a bonus; I took us there b/c I really love the architecture of the place (art deco meets European gothic castle), and the food is good - high pricey, but not exhorbitant.
On a completely different subject, thank you, thank you to you fabulous people who commented on my earlier post - both on the blog, itself, and via email. I really appreciate your thoughts, encouragement, and support. I wish I could convey more eloquently how they truly touched my heart and comforted me, but this simple thanks will have to do.
Since my earlier posting, Ken and I have learned that great friends of ours from Austin, Ari and Terri, might be game to pursue a sort of "co-housing" with us - i.e. the four of us with our kids (their two, our one) renting a duplex together, to start with. The idea could expand into sharing gardening and childcare/animal care activities, recycling efforts -- basically, looking for ways to pool our resources to diminish our ecological "footprint" together, as well as foster more neighborly, "intentional family,""village-ness" in our day-to-day lives.
Over the next 3-6 months, we'll all be looking at whether to maybe move to Minneapolis, MN., Spokane, WA., Madison, WI. or for Ken and me, maybe back to Austin, TX. Ari and Terri currently still reside in South Austin, but they're open to the possibilities of other areas -- Terri's mom lives in St. Paul, in fact, I think. If we (all) moved to the Twin Cities area, Ken and I would be within an easy day's drive from my brother and his three kids in the far west Chicago suburbs...
The draw to moving back to Austin is definitely there, b/c we were (and are) certainly blessed with some great friends there; yet, on the brink of parenthood, I find myself feeling the pull of my own midwestern roots/imprint. And, Texas is more like the Midwest than anywhere else I've lived, but it's TEXAS - with its own personality and culture. I enjoyed its personality and differences while I lived there, but like I said, at the moment, I'm feeling a nostalgia for four seasons, sledding in the winter, maple and pine trees and lilacs.
Well, another bowl of rice crispies is beckoning me from the kitchen, so I'll sign off for now. :)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
To completely contradict myself...
Today, Ken offered that he thought maybe I give/gave up on things too soon/early. Movie Midwifing, theatre stuff, my own movie-making -- even leaving Austin before "jumping off bridges" was completely through post-production. He didn't say it in an accusatory way - just an observational/questioning way. When something doesn't meet my internal expectations/timetable, I switch gears to something else. Granted, moving to Austin initiated a quest for me -- I was seeking what artistic medium/channel to focus on - so hopping between/among things could be argued to be integral to that quest.
But, his observation speaks to a fundamental insecurity I have about myself - just what am I good at? What should I be doing? What do I want? It's the same struggle -- I try to recognize my "north star," and then I yearn for signs that validate my choices -- affirm my choices. And, out of this habit of hunting for a sign or signs, I probably knee-jerk react right out of the flow I'm seeking, or may be right on the cusp of.
Now, I'm in yet another switching-gears spot, albeit with a completely unfamiliar stimulus, begging the same questions. Does impending motherhood sanction/necessitate a turnabout? Should motherhood be "my new career?" Or, is it something to learn to meld with my creative/career aspirations? Does the arrival of this child signal the launch of a complete departure or the need for adjustment, at the minimum, and greater focus on the goals/aspirations that brought us out here?
Add to that, that I've been relentlessly "intentional" about these issues and choices over the years. So, that makes me wonder if the best choice is the opposite of what I've attempted/done in the past -- maybe the best choice is to "just punt?" Forget intention. Completely let go of past ambitions and motivations, embrace this unknowing freefall and resolve to just be okay with that for as long as I can.
Ken and I can articulate all the aspects of LA that we don't like, and don't want for Audrey. But, on the flipside, could I be perpetuating my own pattern of giving up/switching gears too soon when things don't unfold per my desired timetable/sequence-of-events by us picking up and moving away as soon as possible?
Agh.
Of course, it's not just up to me. Ken's not inspired, yet, with any definite resolutions either.
Which brings us back to just waiting and seeing. Let's get through birth, and breast feeding, and sleepless nights, and baby gas. Then, we'll regroup...
But, his observation speaks to a fundamental insecurity I have about myself - just what am I good at? What should I be doing? What do I want? It's the same struggle -- I try to recognize my "north star," and then I yearn for signs that validate my choices -- affirm my choices. And, out of this habit of hunting for a sign or signs, I probably knee-jerk react right out of the flow I'm seeking, or may be right on the cusp of.
Now, I'm in yet another switching-gears spot, albeit with a completely unfamiliar stimulus, begging the same questions. Does impending motherhood sanction/necessitate a turnabout? Should motherhood be "my new career?" Or, is it something to learn to meld with my creative/career aspirations? Does the arrival of this child signal the launch of a complete departure or the need for adjustment, at the minimum, and greater focus on the goals/aspirations that brought us out here?
Add to that, that I've been relentlessly "intentional" about these issues and choices over the years. So, that makes me wonder if the best choice is the opposite of what I've attempted/done in the past -- maybe the best choice is to "just punt?" Forget intention. Completely let go of past ambitions and motivations, embrace this unknowing freefall and resolve to just be okay with that for as long as I can.
Ken and I can articulate all the aspects of LA that we don't like, and don't want for Audrey. But, on the flipside, could I be perpetuating my own pattern of giving up/switching gears too soon when things don't unfold per my desired timetable/sequence-of-events by us picking up and moving away as soon as possible?
Agh.
Of course, it's not just up to me. Ken's not inspired, yet, with any definite resolutions either.
Which brings us back to just waiting and seeing. Let's get through birth, and breast feeding, and sleepless nights, and baby gas. Then, we'll regroup...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Last weekend - the short skinny
Lorie's mental condition today: Spacy, with patches of intermittent fog. :)
My mom flew out from AZ this past weekend, and we had a great time. Though, she did exclaim in front of both of them, that our cats are "fat." They're big boys, yes, - gorgeous hunks of feline perfection - but fat...? Ouch. :)
The biggest "event" thing we did over the weekend was go to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena on Saturday and have tea in their Tea Room. If you haven't been, Huntington is a worthwhile destination - acres and acres of different gardens, an art gallery, and a big-deal, really-old books/manuscripts library. It's a little pricey for both admission to the grounds and for the tea, but it was a gorgeous day, all in all.
The rest of her visit, we went to the bookstore, wandered around The Grove, and ate other yummy food. Oh, and Friday night, I opened her shower gifts -- many cute, cute outfits and an activity blanket, plus a music box thingie, and serendipitously enough, a tiny bead "ring" both from when she was a baby. Cool stuff! The weekend seemed to fly by.
On another note, I imagine Ken and I both will muse on the following in posts to come, but we started talking this weekend about possibly moving away from LA after Audrey is born and Ken finishes his certification exams. My mom's practically ready to pack the cars for us. :)
The biggest reason is, obviously, Audrey. We don't like the pollution out here; we don't thrill to being big city/metropolitan-dwellers; there's a high-RAUNCH factor that permeates the city -- just yesterday, I noticed billboards up for a new slasher movie titled something like, "Captivity." It boasted "Abduction. Confinement. Torture. Termination." with photos of a woman grotesquely illustrating each of those words. Ew! Sigh. (This billboard campaign has since been claimed, "a printing mistake" when the public complained, and all those disgusting billboards were replaced with ones that just show a woman's face behind chain link fence.)
I don't have a paid job in the movie business, and even if I were to find/get one say, six months down the road, we'd either have to find/fund child care for Audrey, or plan to live off my salary while Ken would stay home with her.
We miss four seasons. I'd like to live somewhere that I find PRETTY. I miss lilac bushes. Falling generally on the more "hippie" side of the political spectrum, we'd like to live somewhere that skews toward "progressive" politics. We'd also like to live someplace that we might afford a house again.
I miss having a garden. And, you know what's really weird about that? Out here, in CA, I'm not inspired to garden. Even if I had the money for a dwelling with some soil to tend, I'm just not... enthused, inspired. I love the roses and lavender out here, but I don't vibe to all the tropical stuff. And, we have potted plants on our balcony, but I avoid going out there very much since Loud Annoying Neighbor moved in months and months ago.
Maybe I'm ready to say I'm done with my movie aspirations. Or, more accurately, ready to let go and free fall. At least, at this stage in my life. Hell, I feel I've been pounding that particular pavement for the last 10+ years. I'm tired of trying so hard. We made the leap, coming out here. And, the pool we landed in was the Audrey/parenting one, not a movie-mogul one, or even a Ken-has-landed-some-fantastic-he-loves-it job/career opportunity one.
It's all just food for thought right now.
My mom flew out from AZ this past weekend, and we had a great time. Though, she did exclaim in front of both of them, that our cats are "fat." They're big boys, yes, - gorgeous hunks of feline perfection - but fat...? Ouch. :)
The biggest "event" thing we did over the weekend was go to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena on Saturday and have tea in their Tea Room. If you haven't been, Huntington is a worthwhile destination - acres and acres of different gardens, an art gallery, and a big-deal, really-old books/manuscripts library. It's a little pricey for both admission to the grounds and for the tea, but it was a gorgeous day, all in all.
The rest of her visit, we went to the bookstore, wandered around The Grove, and ate other yummy food. Oh, and Friday night, I opened her shower gifts -- many cute, cute outfits and an activity blanket, plus a music box thingie, and serendipitously enough, a tiny bead "ring" both from when she was a baby. Cool stuff! The weekend seemed to fly by.
On another note, I imagine Ken and I both will muse on the following in posts to come, but we started talking this weekend about possibly moving away from LA after Audrey is born and Ken finishes his certification exams. My mom's practically ready to pack the cars for us. :)
The biggest reason is, obviously, Audrey. We don't like the pollution out here; we don't thrill to being big city/metropolitan-dwellers; there's a high-RAUNCH factor that permeates the city -- just yesterday, I noticed billboards up for a new slasher movie titled something like, "Captivity." It boasted "Abduction. Confinement. Torture. Termination." with photos of a woman grotesquely illustrating each of those words. Ew! Sigh. (This billboard campaign has since been claimed, "a printing mistake" when the public complained, and all those disgusting billboards were replaced with ones that just show a woman's face behind chain link fence.)
I don't have a paid job in the movie business, and even if I were to find/get one say, six months down the road, we'd either have to find/fund child care for Audrey, or plan to live off my salary while Ken would stay home with her.
We miss four seasons. I'd like to live somewhere that I find PRETTY. I miss lilac bushes. Falling generally on the more "hippie" side of the political spectrum, we'd like to live somewhere that skews toward "progressive" politics. We'd also like to live someplace that we might afford a house again.
I miss having a garden. And, you know what's really weird about that? Out here, in CA, I'm not inspired to garden. Even if I had the money for a dwelling with some soil to tend, I'm just not... enthused, inspired. I love the roses and lavender out here, but I don't vibe to all the tropical stuff. And, we have potted plants on our balcony, but I avoid going out there very much since Loud Annoying Neighbor moved in months and months ago.
Maybe I'm ready to say I'm done with my movie aspirations. Or, more accurately, ready to let go and free fall. At least, at this stage in my life. Hell, I feel I've been pounding that particular pavement for the last 10+ years. I'm tired of trying so hard. We made the leap, coming out here. And, the pool we landed in was the Audrey/parenting one, not a movie-mogul one, or even a Ken-has-landed-some-fantastic-he-loves-it job/career opportunity one.
It's all just food for thought right now.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
I have a lot of things flying through my mind.
I have a lot of things flying through my mind.
I slept in really late, b/c I was relishing how relatively comfortable I was, vis a vis my expand-o-matic belly. When I'm up and about, standing, sitting, or walking, I either have to pee, have little baby knees and arms punching bulges outward, and/or feel this constant, itchy tightness. Not that I really mind these things that much, actually. But, they do feel ever present these days, and when I'm settled in bed, on my side, with my pillows, I can almost forget all the discomforts. Except for the burning sensation in my hips from lying exclusively on my sides, or when I try to lie on my back for more than 15 seconds, and I suddenly have to gasp for air b/c my heart suddenly surges. :)
Alright, I was gonna write more stuff, but Ken is &%$!* with the fax machine, right above my head, and I give up for now.
I slept in really late, b/c I was relishing how relatively comfortable I was, vis a vis my expand-o-matic belly. When I'm up and about, standing, sitting, or walking, I either have to pee, have little baby knees and arms punching bulges outward, and/or feel this constant, itchy tightness. Not that I really mind these things that much, actually. But, they do feel ever present these days, and when I'm settled in bed, on my side, with my pillows, I can almost forget all the discomforts. Except for the burning sensation in my hips from lying exclusively on my sides, or when I try to lie on my back for more than 15 seconds, and I suddenly have to gasp for air b/c my heart suddenly surges. :)
Alright, I was gonna write more stuff, but Ken is &%$!* with the fax machine, right above my head, and I give up for now.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
I passed exam two today!
I just passed my second MCSE exam! Yay!
Can't think of a better way to celebrate than microwaved chimichangas, a cold brewski, and my favorite new TV show: "Libby and the Law."
Life is good!
Only four more exams to go...
Can't think of a better way to celebrate than microwaved chimichangas, a cold brewski, and my favorite new TV show: "Libby and the Law."
Life is good!
Only four more exams to go...
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Cats and dogs
Our orange tabby, Tom, has some sort of kitty itchies. He doesn't go outside these days (so fleas are not an issue), and I've changed his food to this super-natural-sensitive-systems kitty kibble; but, he still has a track of itchy bumps along his back. They're not nearly as prevalent or "angry looking" as they used to be, but it's become a ritual for us to spend each day with me giving him his cat spa/"daily scratch." I love having my kitty (in fact, both of them) on my lap (what's left of it as my pregnancy tummy protrudes), but I'm wondering what holistic ways I might try to eliminate his itchies. I know it has to be caused by something internal. My strongest instinct is that he's got allergies - to what, exactly, I don't know, yet. The other possible culprit is a parasite of some sort. So, yesterday, between tasks at my temp gig, I surfed the web to dig up info on possible causes and holistic treatments of kitty cooties.
I found a holistic vet that I might contact, and I came across multiple websites for animal communicators/psychics, including this one -- Marta Williams. What fun! Several years ago in Austin, a local women-centric film organization (Reel Women) organized a weekend film festival of indie films by women filmmakers. One of the shorts they screened that weekend featured an animal communicator who lived/worked somewhere up in New York state, I think. I don't remember the filmmaker's name, nor the name of her profilee, but I remember most of the film. I found it so damn interesting and entertaining.
I talk to my cats all the time. Hell, I talk to every animal I encounter. Ken thinks it's funny and sometimes embarassing. He'll try to shoo me along, away from the neighbor's barking dog, for instance, in an effort to quiet the noisy ruckus as soon as possible. And, I'm sure my mom rued this tendency of mine when I was a child, because of the number of times I was bitten or even mauled by a dog or cat that I expected to be friendly back to me. Oops. Scars can make for good stories, though - like the one on my right wrist, from the time when the neighbors' Great Dane chomped onto me to drag me into their house. That one wasn't really my fault - I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They opened the door before they had control of their two giant dogs, and there you go. I think I was maybe in kindergarten. I remember that the dog was taller than me.
And, then there was another neighbor's badass beagle. This was first, maybe second grade, and it was my mistake, definitely. Bad ass beagle lived with neighbors around the corner from my house. But, it was approachable if you encountered it with one its humans, which I had experienced. I proudly boasted of this feat of actually petting the badass beagle while walking to school with my best buddies, Pat Guiney and Timmy T. Of course, they crowed that there was no way I could've gotten close to that dog, much less petted it, and that basically, I was full of doo-doo.
You know I had to prove them wrong. Needless to say, without one of its human pack there to "okay" my effort to pet him, badass beagle reacted to my entrance into his yard with a biting, clawing lunge at my face. I remember running home afterward and my mom reacting with alarm to the blood coming down from over my left eye and the claw marks that made vertical stripes down both my cheeks. Another small scar resides in the arch of my left eyebrow to this day. I'm probably lucky that the cheek scratches weren't deep enough to make me look like Seal, the pop singer.
Today, I've had sketchy fantasies of organizing a workshop weekend with Marta above for a group. She offers a deal like a Tupperware party, or one of those lingerie parties, where the hostess gets to attend for free if she can draw enough attendees to an event. It just sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend someday - learning and practicing the ways all of us experience communicating with animals, whether it's in images, words, " just knowing," or some combination thereof.
I'll have to add this to my List of Fun Ideas. Come to think of it, I need to start compiling a List of Fun Ideas. :) That'll be a different posting.
I found a holistic vet that I might contact, and I came across multiple websites for animal communicators/psychics, including this one -- Marta Williams. What fun! Several years ago in Austin, a local women-centric film organization (Reel Women) organized a weekend film festival of indie films by women filmmakers. One of the shorts they screened that weekend featured an animal communicator who lived/worked somewhere up in New York state, I think. I don't remember the filmmaker's name, nor the name of her profilee, but I remember most of the film. I found it so damn interesting and entertaining.
I talk to my cats all the time. Hell, I talk to every animal I encounter. Ken thinks it's funny and sometimes embarassing. He'll try to shoo me along, away from the neighbor's barking dog, for instance, in an effort to quiet the noisy ruckus as soon as possible. And, I'm sure my mom rued this tendency of mine when I was a child, because of the number of times I was bitten or even mauled by a dog or cat that I expected to be friendly back to me. Oops. Scars can make for good stories, though - like the one on my right wrist, from the time when the neighbors' Great Dane chomped onto me to drag me into their house. That one wasn't really my fault - I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They opened the door before they had control of their two giant dogs, and there you go. I think I was maybe in kindergarten. I remember that the dog was taller than me.
And, then there was another neighbor's badass beagle. This was first, maybe second grade, and it was my mistake, definitely. Bad ass beagle lived with neighbors around the corner from my house. But, it was approachable if you encountered it with one its humans, which I had experienced. I proudly boasted of this feat of actually petting the badass beagle while walking to school with my best buddies, Pat Guiney and Timmy T. Of course, they crowed that there was no way I could've gotten close to that dog, much less petted it, and that basically, I was full of doo-doo.
You know I had to prove them wrong. Needless to say, without one of its human pack there to "okay" my effort to pet him, badass beagle reacted to my entrance into his yard with a biting, clawing lunge at my face. I remember running home afterward and my mom reacting with alarm to the blood coming down from over my left eye and the claw marks that made vertical stripes down both my cheeks. Another small scar resides in the arch of my left eyebrow to this day. I'm probably lucky that the cheek scratches weren't deep enough to make me look like Seal, the pop singer.
Today, I've had sketchy fantasies of organizing a workshop weekend with Marta above for a group. She offers a deal like a Tupperware party, or one of those lingerie parties, where the hostess gets to attend for free if she can draw enough attendees to an event. It just sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend someday - learning and practicing the ways all of us experience communicating with animals, whether it's in images, words, " just knowing," or some combination thereof.
I'll have to add this to my List of Fun Ideas. Come to think of it, I need to start compiling a List of Fun Ideas. :) That'll be a different posting.
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