To B'ham and Back
8:14 PM - Posted by Shelly - 0 comments
So it's a week late, but Nathan's big birthday present was a trip to Birmingham to go to the Rick & Bubba radio show. This morning was the show and it was a lot of fun! We made R&B some ham and cheese rolls (which I hoped they liked) and just got to sit back and watch them do their morning show. During the commercial breaks Bubba threw a tennis ball up against the windows (literally at every commercial break... all 12 that we were there for) and Rick gave us a drum solo on the kit. He specifically played a Latin beat for me for some unknown reason (he said, "Mom, I know you like the Latin stuff" or something like that). After the show, we got a nice picture made with them.


After Rick & Bubba, we went to Vulcan Park, which I may or may not have been to as a child. We got some great pictures and I found out that my parents and/or grandparents lied to me about Vulcan's butt. I was told that there was controversy about his butt being exposed and that it was covered up eventually with some metal shorts or something. When I asked about this today at the museum, I was told that there was indeed controversy, but that his butt was not covered up, rather he was turned 17 degrees so as not to be mooning Homewood. Please do enjoy my picture of Vulcan's butt.

After Vulcan, I finally learned where Five Points is, as we went to a health food store there to buy incense and snacks. After that, we drove quickly by the place where my grandparents used to live (we drove quickly because it is now a very scary-looking place) and then stopped by the cemetery to see theirs and my uncle's graves.

Finally, we headed back home. However, we did stop in Cullman at Denny's to eat. Since we are deprived of any Denny's in the Middle Tennessee Area, this was a special treat. The food was excellent, but the service was bad. We were there for nearly an hour, and most of it was waiting on our waitress to come by so we could ask for our check and a to-go box. But, again, the food was fantastic!!

If this sounds a bit like "What I Did On My Summer Vacation," it's because I am just exhausted! Not only did we pack a lot into a short time, we slept terribly last night at the hotel. But I never sleep well in a strange bed, anyway. Still we had a great time!!



Not That It's Not A Sad Day
5:33 PM - Posted by Shelly - 0 comments
Today is September 11. Everyone knows what happened today and what they were doing when it happened. I remember being at work that morning and hearing what was going on in New York. I also remember that I had to leave work early that day because we were having a new hot water heater installed in our house that afternoon.

Not that it's not a sad day or anything, but it's not that big a deal for me. Mainly because I associate it so much with what happened the following week. On Sept. 18, 2001 our house caught fire and we lost nearly everything, including five of our cats.

The thing is, when you hear about Sept. 11, you hear so much about how people came together and how much help there was out there for people in need. But the next week, we didn't experience much of that. I can't say that some people weren't sympathetic; I can't say that some people didn't go the extra mile for us. There were plenty of people who did. But there were plenty of people who didn't.

Yeah, I suppose I am bitter about it still. And I really didn't realize that I was until now. I don't know many people who have been through what we had, so I guess it's hard for people to really understand what it's like to lose your beloved pets, whose poor dead bodies were treated like trash by the authorities. It's hard for people to know what it's like to go to K-mart at night to buy clothes because all you have is what you wore to work that day. It's hard for people to know what it's like to be told that your possessions are irrecoverable not because they are damaged, but because the cleaning crew is stealing from you. Those are the memories that I associate with September 2001.

Of course, I can't forget that there were very, very kind people who were quite generous to us. The pet cremation company who treated our cats like the children they were to us (and, funnily enough, the company gave us a "bulk" discount because we had so many to be cremated). There was the church group who donated sheets and bedding for us once we had an apartment and some furniture. And there were the people who gave us money to help us until the insurance kicked in. Those were the real lifesavers, especially in those first few days when we really had nothing.

So, I am sad for the people that died in the terrorist attacks eight years ago. I am sad for how divided our country is after a brief time of being united. But mostly, when people talk about today, I relive the time just after Sept. 11, when we lost so much ourselves.


Midwives
2:59 PM - Posted by Shelly - 0 comments
This past weekend, Nathan and I went to hear two midwives, Ina May Gaskin and Umsalaama Abdullah, speak at an event called "Labor (of Love) Day."

If you aren't familiar with Ina May Gaskin, she is the founder of The Farm Midwifery Center in Summertown, TN. She has written a few of books, one of which I have read, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and one that Nathan is reading called Spiritual Midwifery.

As we plan on a natural childbirth, these books have been not only helpful, but very encouraging. I am excited to see how our birth turns out in light of all that we have learned recently about natural childbirth.

Below are some pictures I took at the event.



Oh, and I really wanted to title this entry "My Vagina Birth" due to a comment an audience member made, but I thought it would be too much for the faint of heart. ;)