LET LOVE BE SINCERE

LET LOVE BE SINCERE

Thursday, May 23, 2013

7 Quick takes written at 11:44 on Friday night

--- 1 ---

So, I've been blogging for the past few years and on that journey I have commented at time or two about how beautiful I think the reality of pregnancy is.  Oh, wait...that's never happened.  Before I say this, I want to state that I do know that pregnancy is a blessing.  A completely, totally, undeserved reality that God has allowed me to experience three times. I try to remember that on nights like tonight, when it is becoming abundantly clear that for the THIRD night in a row, pregnancy insomnia will not be allowing me to sleep.  At least the husband will be home early tomorrow!
--- 2 ---
Speaking of the husband, he got a big F for birthday celebrations this week.  It might have had something to do with the actual birthday being a really bad day (peed on twice, raging diaper rashes, over-tired children, over tired mommy) and I was what some might call a 'raging b@#$', but instead of being gentle and understanding...he went for the 'snap out of it' route....which led us to a night of not speaking and me eating dinner alone before going to bed (I mean, how freaking tragic is that!?!?!?).  Now, before you start crying and calling in the counselors, the great news is we powered through that awful day and have ended up having a really great week.  AND, he finally celebrated the ol' birthday tonight after the kids went to bed by pulling out the ol' guitar and playing me some tunes. I honestly don't think I have heard him play since we've been married, so it was really sweet.  I like him. a lot.
--- 3 ---
Wanna know why else I like him?  We realized this week that we missed sending one of our nephews a birthday card (happy birthday Rocky).  This can easily happen because together we have 22 nieces and nephews.  BUT, it usually doesn't.  You see, we decided last year, siblings will get a phone call to celebrate their birthdays, but we would really try to be good about sending each of the kids a card with a little somethin' in it.  Wait, I am forgetting to tell you why Aaron is awesome.  Because every time I am saying, 'we' what I really should be saying is, 'he'.  Aaron keeps a spread sheet, buys the cards, addresses them and sends them out each time a birthday approaches.  This is super helpful because if you know anything about me, you know that snail mail/thank you cards/birthday cards etc...are not my forte.  What kind of a husband is intentional about remembering and celebrating each of his nieces and nephews?  Mine!
--- 4 ---
Aaron enjoying the pool
Note to self:  Lil' Aaron loves pools.  Joey Michael hates them.  So, the fantasy of having both of my kids play outside and delight in the pool is actually the reality of having lil' A play while Joey sits on my lap.  Oh, and then having lil' A completely meltdown when it is time to go inside because his brother is bored and I am hot and pregnant.
Joey enjoying my lap
--- 5 ---
Sooo...buckle up.  I was watching 'The View' and racism was being discussed.  Jillian Michaels was discussing her Haitian daughter and explaining that she never fully understood the scope of racism until she had a daughter who was a different race.  She said she daily encounters racism in a variety of ways and it breaks her heart to see how her daughter is sometimes treated on the playground (her daughter is 3).
Mixed couple :)
Anyway, Aaron and I have been married for three years and together for four.  We have 2 mixed children for people to judge currently, and one cooking.  And here's the thing (and I am sure a LOT of you will disagree)....we have certainly encountered racism a handful of times.  And it sucks and it is hurtful and it bothers me.  BUT, I think sometimes, and by a certain groups of people, racism is GREATLY exaggerated.  And, I think that does a disservice to the realities of race-relations in this country.  I know, I know, easy for me to say...we are a middle class family in a city that borders Detroit, but, I'm still said it and believe it... :)
--- 6 ---
As a goodbye gift, some teens gave me a super generous gift card to my favorite, 'Old Navy'.  That gift card is now gone, but I have a whole summer wardrobe #teensrock
--- 7 ---
Hey, did I mention I am SO....tired, but I can't sleep. It's awesome!  That's it for today!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

11 comments:

  1. Interesting what you said about racism. Does your husband feel the same way? It makes me sad too, that it's even still out there. And by out there, I mean out there NEW, by young kids, teens. People that should have been raised to not think that way. Not that I think our parents or their parents generations are OK to be racist.

    We live in a Somalian filled city and I catch myself not liking the fact that they don't talk to people not in their culture. I want to talk to them. Get to know them. It seems it's part of their culture to not though. (I did get to know a nurse at the hospital for my babes last surgery though) it feels like taking steps backward.

    That really had nothing to do with anything did it?

    I wrote about marriage sometime last month I think, but after 16 years of marriage and having been where you are with 2 littles and another on the way, I know how hard it can be. and looking back, the single thing that would have helped us, is to have been told to talk to each other, EVERY DAY. We try now and it happens maybe 5 days a week, but it has helped us a TON. No more blow ups over nothings.

    That's my 2 cents. Or is it sense? Anyway, don't be offended. Please.

    Glad you had a happy birthday after all.

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    1. Jamie Jo! You always leave the nicest comments. The husband feels similarly. Because I tend to be quite candid when it comes to race, I always check with him before I write about it on the ol' blog. He gave me the 'go ahead' on this thought. Other thoughts, he has suggested I keep to myself :) I do so like him.
      GREAT advice about marriage. It is so much tougher than I thought, especially being my husband and I are complete opposites in most ways. BUT, the good news is, our decision to love each other always comes back to faith and God- and I am still pretty obsessed with him (even miss him when he is at work), so our bickering is a work in progress :) ZERO offense.

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  2. All I know is that mixed race babies are the cutest, and if that's racist to say, I'm not even sorry :)

    Soooooo, to make you feel better about your bummer of a birthday....on our 11th Anniverary, we were talking it up all day about how excited we were to go out, and I drank 2 margaritas at the Mexican restaurant, and the kids made cupcakes for us with the babysitter and it was perfect, and then I sat on the couch and fell asleep! No big deal, except that the next day was the start of stupid phase 2 and so we still haven't properly celebrated and I'm feeling extra guilty!!

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  3. Did you mean Thursday? Or maybe I'm missing something. Anyway, pregnancy insomnia is THE WORST. The only thing I can think is that it's our body getting us ready for a newborn? Because I sleep way better after the baby is born than before. I'm so sorry you are dealing with it, too.
    A little bit jealous of your husband's spread sheets. That is awesome.
    Yeah, racism. A lot of opinions but you probably have more weight given to yours than I do given your situation :)

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    1. Yeah...body getting ready for the baby...totally awesome if it wasn't for the two other babies :) The thing about race, one advantage of being married to a black man is my opinions now count, but they haven't changed from before I had met him. Meaning, of course your opinions (which I bet are similar to mine) are probably just as accurate, you are sometimes just not allowed to say them :( It's not fair!

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  4. I get preganacy insomina toward the end of preganancies, so I feel for you!! Praying you get sleep!!

    I think the racism thing depends on where you live. My sister in law is black and when she and my brother lived in Western New York, they encountered some horrible treatment. They live in CA now and have had no issues. That is one reason why they said they would never move from CA.

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    1. I think it totally depends on location. when we go to KY, we feel a lot more tension than we do here in Michigan. That being said, I am certain, Jillian Michaels, who lives in LA and sends her daughter to what I can only presume are very exclusive, progressive preschools...probably does not encounter racism on a daily basis. :)

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  5. That is so cute Aaron keeps track of all the niece/nephew birthdays...good for him! And yay for summer clothes.

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  6. Oh man, when I was pregnant with Molly Scott was traveling every week. I hit that insomnia and begged my doctor for Ambien, which thank God, he didn't give me. (Turns out that stuff makes me high as a flippin' kite.) Anyway, I took a walk several times a day back then, just to get out of the house.

    I wonder about race in the same way you wrote. I also think there is a lot of misunderstanding on the part of all subcultures in the US, and many times when someone is being a jerk it's not racism so much as the person is in a bad mood. I find the same thing happens with Mae being around. Sometimes when people say, "You are done, right?" my initial impression is that I shouldn't have more kids because Mariana has Down syndrome, which was said exactly once to me. But people have asked that since I had Charlotte, so obviously it's not always about that. Maybe other kids are mean to her daughter because they are three and not because they are racist.

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