5 Favorites, Vol. 13

Somehow, someway, my baby girl is celebrating her 1st birthday today. The last year flew by, but since I haven't had time to take and edit birthday pictures or write my poetic wax about the year, I'm going to link with Hallie and share 5 of my favorite Clare posts/moments from the last year.

1. Welcoming my sweet girl into the Church, even if the photographic evidence is less than ideal.

Yep, she was so excited, she just couldn't contain herself.

2. Welcoming my sweet girl into the ex utero world.

I still can't believe that she was that little. Or has gotten so big.

3. Watching my sweet girl learn the joys of exploring the world around her. 

I especially love that she is a bookworm

4. Surviving my not-always-sweet headstrong girl's first few months.

Not impressed

5. Learning that being a mom is about so much more than keeping your kids alive.

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

Happy Birthday, sweet Clare! Happy Wednesday, everyone else!

Love Story

In honor of our second anniversary, which is today, I thought I would do the requisite and type up Charles' and my love story. Except that the story isn't really that great. C'est la vie. I'm typing it anyway.

You know the scene from You've Got Mail where it shows Tom Hank's character and Meg Ryan's character occupying the same sliver of New York City, crossing paths over and over but never meeting? If you don't, I apologize, I couldn't find a clip on YouTube. Anyway, that was us. But without NYC.

We both graduated from high school in 2000 (old, indeed), and trotted off to the same university. Not too surprisingly, we didn't immediately run into one another among the 45 million or thousand or whatever other students. He didn't get his college career off to an auspicious start, and deciding that Tucson wasn't the right place for him, moved back to Phoenix at the end of the year. I made some friends, studied abroad, finished in four. You know, we lived our lives.

We walked along life, blissfully ignorant of one another's existence.

Fast forward to about 2007. Ifinishedcollegeandwenttolawschoolanddecidednottobealawyer. Heworkedandgothisassociate'sdegreeanddecidedtogetseriousaboutschoolandgointothemedicalfield.

At that point, I was living in an apartment in a large-ish complex a couple of miles from ASU while I was a 3L (3rd year law student). He was living in the same apartment complex in his second year at ASU pursuing a biology degree, working in a neuroscience lab. We both attended the Newman Center on campus. He remembers following a car from the apartments to the Newman Center and mentally noting that someone else in the complex went to Newman. He's convinced it was me, but admits that he isn't really sure that it's not an invented memory, inserting my car into the scene. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing his truck in the parking lot, but I also don't know how real it is. Regardless, the car's owners remained unknown to one another.

The next year, still at the Newman Center, we were both regular attendees of the 7pm Mass. I started serving as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I had been participating with the Young Adult group for years. He began volunteering and doing other service work with the Young Adult Group. Result: mutual friends. We both attended a series of catechesis lectures from the associate director of the parish. Late in the year, I started serving a different Mass. The team of servers for that Mass was frequently led by Charles' then-roommate.

We never met.

One particularly memorable non-meeting was at a party we both attended. Both of us were driving (read: sober), but an attendee who was not had too much to drink. The results were particularly memorable. Since everything ended okay, and since I don't even know this individual, I'll spare the details. The important (to this story) thing is that later, that event came up in conversation. He started telling me about it, and I gasped that I was there, too! After a little recounting, we realized that we must have been mere feet from one another that evening.

We still never met. As far as I can recall, we never even saw each other.

I've spent a lot of time pondering our not meeting. For a time, I wondered why we never met, in spite of ourselves, especially those last couple of years. Were we thwarting some bigger plan by not meeting? Or thwarting it by coming perilously close to meeting? Now though, I am increasingly convinced that God blinded us to one another until the time was right for us to meet. I understand free will enough to know that there isn't a "plan" in the sense of the future being spelled out for us, but I do know that God has goals for us (Heaven) and wants us to have the best chance possible to attain them (vocations). He's looking to help us, if only we'll listen.

During that time, I was feeling particularly antsy about being single. One particular time during prayer before Mass, I got the distinct message from God to be patient. I misinterpreted it at the time, but looking back, the answer is obvious.

*****

I didn't plan to do this in two parts, but I think I'll leave it there for now. I probably won't get around to posting the second part until next week. We might be two married years old today, but someone will be one tomorrow.

I'd call it a cliffhanger, but . . .

(Link to Part II)

Spoiler

{Andplusalso, because great minds think alike and all of that, no sooner had I hit 'publish' on Monday than Grace did the same thing. And turned it into a link-up . . . so, more better love stories there. Part II is set to run on Monday, for the two non-related people who might care.}

Travel Leg #1 -- Phoenix to St. Louis

We're here!

And getting here wasn't nearly as bad as either of us envisioned. Neither Charles nor I are great long-haul drivers, and with the baby, it is impossible to literally just jump in the car and go anyway. And Clare is not a calm, low-key, chillaxin' kind of baby. She's a get up and make mischief kind of baby. We were anticipating the worse, and didn't hold out much hope on the best. 

Rollin' front seat style (with a terrible smile from me)

And back seat style

We did the drive in 3 days. I listened to a mediocre audiobook that I may or may not finish. Charles listened to a lot of music. Clare napped two of four stretches (we each did 2) each day and was entertained/fed/screamed for 2 stretches. All in all, not bad.

Playing with Baby

Using Piglotta as a hat/eye mask

And as a pacifier

Driving out of Arizona, we both had new things to experience. While both of us have been on the East Coast (and out of the country, though not together -- someday), neither of us has done a cross-country road trip. Once we passed I-25 driving across New Mexico on I-40, we were both in uncharted (for us; cartographers we are not) territory. We spent the first night in the lovely interstate town of Tucumcari, NM. The second, we spent in the truly lovely city of Tulsa. We arrived at our rental in St. Louis Saturday afternoon.

Unimpressed

We're both from Arizona, and both agree that Arizona is a wonderful state. We also both agree that what you see of New Mexico from I-40 leaves a lot to be desired. These were our thoughts Friday and Saturday as we trekked across 3 states and areas neither of us had seen:

Panhandle: "This is not what I'd imagined the Texas panhandle to look like at all. This is nice. It's windy, but there's so much stuff. I expected it to be, I don't know, browner. And emptier."

Oklahoma: "This is definitely not what I had expected. I guess the Dust Bowl was like 80 years ago now, but this is so pretty and green!" We really did both like Tulsa. Even if their A/Cs were waaaaaaaaaaay too cold.

Missouri: (mouths gaping) "This.Is.So.Green." We kept joking about how ugly the scenery was. Which is silly, because I've seen green before. But this took me by surprise for some reason. For realzies. I also marveled at the "creeks" that were significantly bigger than any river in Arizona that actually, you know, has water. Except the Colorado through the Canyon, but I don't routinely see that. I see dry river beds.

Yesterday, we went to Mass at the Cathedral, and then drove down to see the Arch and the Mississippi. Thanks to the always-winning combination of heat, humidity and church clothes, we made it a quick trip, but I was insistent about seeing the Mississippi ASAP, because I never had before, and it just seemed like a thing I should do if I'm this close, ya know? We also did practical things like to the grocery store and get Charles ready for his last first day of school.

I took exactly one, lame, cell-phone from the car picture of the Cathedral, because we only arrived with a couple of minutes to spare before Mass, and Clare really felt like screaming during Mass (definite F for the day), and we were not in picture taking mode by the time we were done. Run-on sentences for the win.

We got a few cute decent shots at the river, though.

The Mighty Mississippi -- Clare is underwhelmed

Arch -- Mama's happy, at least

Today, Charles is off doctoring, and Clare and I are going to settle back into our routine. It feels simultaneously normal and surreal.

Last first day of school!

Tragedy

I grew up in Prescott, Arizona. This week, the whole Prescott community -- those in town and those whose lives have carried them away -- mourn the loss of our own. Our elite. Our heroes. May those 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew rest in peace. Eternal rest grant unto them, oh Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May he give peace and comfort to those who mourn.

Charles is also mourning the too-soon death of a cousin.

I know it is sappy, but the truth is this:

It doesn't matter how hard marriage might be. Tell your spouse right now that you love him/her. Text if you have to.

It doesn't matter how completely frustratingly crazy and misbehaving your kids might be. Hug them tight. Look them in the eyes and tell them you love them. Stand over their crib and whisper it if you have to.

Tell your parents, your siblings, your friends.

Life is precious. Too precious.

Medical Mondays - Vol. 3

Linking up with From a Doctor's Wife, Your Doctor's Wife, Army Wife . . . Army Life, and Putting the FUN in Dysfunctional for another round of Medical Mondays.

When you're in the medical world, you do crazy things.

On Thursday, we will set out on a Grand Adventure. At least that's what I'm calling it. Charles is doing audition/away/sub-I rotations (Call them what you will.), and somehow convinced me months ago that Clare and I should go along for the ride.

Maybe that's crazy, even for medicine, but we're a family, and family sticks together. Even if it means sticking together through long car rides, endless rotating hours, and new cities.

So, here we go. Four cities (including home in Phoenix) in four months. Things might looks a little travelogue-y around here. Or maybe a little moaning and groaning resident's wife-y around here. It's hard to know what the future holds, but we're embracing it!

Ready or not, 4th year, here we come!

We clearly need more group pictures, since this one is from Thanksgiving!