Women's History

An important history lesson as we approach Election Day, via my college roommate, HL. 

Women were not granted the right to vote until 1920.  That is a mere 90 years ago.  The women who led the movement suffered incredible abuse and hardship as they pushed for a right they so believed in.   They were beaten and jailed, forced to eat food infested with worms, but eventually were granted the priveldge to vote.  Don't let their suffering be in vein.   Regardless of your political affiliations, respect the women who came before us and fought tirelessly to give us a fundamental right that many of us take for granted today.

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

The rain, the busy day at work, the errands are just not a good enough explanation.... 

Tuesday Ramble

So much to say and virtually no time to say it.  So I'll do this late Monday post in list format.  Maybe it will help organize my distracted mind....

> An amazing surprise baby shower given to me and Baby C by my childhood girlfriends --- including 3 West Coast girls that had to join in via Skype.  They each gave the most thoughtful and generous gifts but much more importantly, it was just a great reminder of the bond that we all share.  There's baggage and history within the group. When you put a group of girls together from age 12-32 you're bound to get a wide mix of "drama".... but at the end of the day, what we have is pretty unique, just like each of us.  Like anything worthwhile in life, it hasn't always been easy but it's been worth it.   We've shared the ups and downs of so many of life's journeys together - college, relationships, cross-country moves, sickness... and now, we'll embark on yet another - motherhood.  

> These notebooks that I picked up over the weekend.  Not sure whether to blame the 3rd trimester or just an increasingly busy life, but I have become a bit of a scatter brain.  Keeping one of these pretty things in my bag is the perfect place to jot down a grocery list, a to-do list etc.   I'm totally enjoying it!

> The new light that we installed over our kitchen table as we continue to improve our apartment and make it as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

> And most importantly, that everyone, especially my siblings in NJ, are safe and sound recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  Although it will take them awhile to clean up, the storm serves as an important reminder of just how unpredictable life can be. 

Friday Peonies

Just some gorgeous flowers on this sunny Friday morning.  Enjoy the weekend!

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Thirtysix!

Today you are thirty-six weeks along, little guy.  Hard to believe you'll be joining us in only 4 weeks.  Wow. wow. wow.   I've gotten so used to this belly, to all of your movements, to the rhythms of your day --- it will be different to have you on the outside for all of the world to see.   But we can't wait!  We are so curious to find out more about the little soul that's about to be entrusted to us. 

I came across this yesterday.  So moving. 

On birth:
"Then we know – if only for a moment, for one long, sweet moment – what it is to be more than one, to be one plus, to have split open and spilled out our blood and our viscera and our spirit and gathered it all back up again in our arms and held it, tight, pressed it to our chests, felt it throbbing and squirming and to have known, to know, what it is to hold one’s soul in one’s arms."- Via this site.

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