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June 14, 2003
Believe in ghosts?
Last Sunday, Claudia and family came over. We were in the family room, Brandan and Sabrina were outside and Kaillan was asleep on our bed. All of a sudden we heard what sounded like a child running upstairs. For sure, either the older kids were up there or Kaillan was awake. Remo went up and came back down two seconds later, Kaillan was fast asleep and nobody else was up there. Weird we deduced. It really did sound like someone running down the hallway and into the spare room above us.
The next day, I was watching Oprah. She was doing a great show about miracles and though I was impressed with all of the stories, one of them in particular goose bumped me. It was about a pregnant woman who woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible pain in her abdomen. Two months too early, she went to the hospital where doctors found there was something wrong with her baby, they couldn’t trace a heartbeat. She delivered the little girl soon after. Doctors tried for more than half an hour to revive the tiny little thing but nothing. They gave the baby to her mother and called in a priest to baptize her. 65 minutes after her birth, the baby who had been pronounced dead, sucked in a breath. Astounded, a team of medical people worked on her again, but with all the tests they conducted, they concluded the baby’s brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long as there was no brain activity at all. After a day and a half, the mother agreed with the recommendations of the doctors and took the baby off life support. They gave her to her mother to hold while she said goodbye. Except that little fighter wasn’t going anywhere and is today, a beautiful, perfectly healthy little three year old girl.
I loved every single other story and in there somewhere, mentioned to my aunt about the weird footstep thing the day before. Just after, the front door flew open. Again and again and again. Four times they took turns slamming it shut, and four times it flew open. My aunt stared at me. Then suggested it was like a little kid spirit playing tricks. I guffawed her. I don’t believe in stuff like that. But then later that night, when I made my way up to bed last, in a pitch black house, I spooked myself. I felt like something was going to jump out and say BOO! Wide awake, I decided to flip on the computer but the phone was dead. I woke Remo up and made him go check the phones. He came back and I flipped on the internet, telling myself there’s a logical explanation for everything, I don’t believe in ghosts. Then not two seconds later, just as I was logging on my internet, a message came on that I was disconnected, the box suggesting that maybe someone was trying to use another phone extension in the house. Someone like a kid playing tricks? I thought for sure I’d never sleep again but I shut everything off and eventually conked. This morning when Claudia called, I told her what happened with the door, expecting her to nix the whole thing, instead she said she would get me holy water to put in each room. A few hours later, I realized the front door handle was jammed. And actually, I have line problems with my internet all the time. I went from haunted to not in a day. But still, everytime I hear an out of place noise, I have to stop and think. Nah.
I feel like I should be writing about how week one of not moving at all never ended, but surprisingly, it actually didn’t drag. Next thing I knew it was a week later and I was back at Dr. Bray’s. Since it was almost his birthday, I brought him a little present (the Bee Gees life story DVD), and in the card I wrote “how ‘bout July 3rd”? At my last appointment he said I had to keep the baby in for four weeks. Four weeks was July 3rd and I like the date; 03.07.03. Dr. Bray said quite simply I am not having the baby July 3rd. Then he checked his calendar and picked a date. July 28th. I gulped and said it wasn’t going to work, my son is starting kindergarten this year. He reminded me school doesn’t start till after Labour Day, the baby would be born by then. I could’ve picked a more powerful persuasion, or at least a logical argument.
My due date is July 22nd but the early ultrasounds estimated August 3rd and Dr.Bray is sticking to that. He’s decided to induce me maybe three days early. I CAN’T do it. I WON’T do it. After 37 weeks the baby is considered term, there’s no advantage to keeping it in there longer than that. According to Dr. Me. The end of July keeps me lying down almost a month longer than I’d calculated. It cuts into my little bit of mat leave, it means I can’t have my kids here with me one month more, it means I can’t go to any of Brandan’s soccer games or practices, it means I can’t do one special thing for Kaillan or Brandan on their birthdays. It’s tough on my aunt and Remo because they have to juggle more for longer. I figure it’ll take me a couple weeks to get back in the swing of things after delivery, the entire summer would be over by then. Since I’ve had four babies born the same month in the last five summers, I’d like to salvage a bit of family fun. July 28th will kill me. So I concocted my own little plan. Dr. Bray had explained if I go into labor in the next few weeks, he would put me in the hospital and on drugs to try to stop things. He also made it clear I do NOT want a premature baby. (Sidebar here: he did say he has a report an inch thick to read about cerebral palsy, but the gist of it is that cerebral palsy is not actually as a result of complications at delivery, instead a baby could be predisposed to complications causing the condition, from a preexisting condition in the uterus. Interesting).
Anyway. In my plan, I will stay parked in my bed till I get to 37 weeks according to the later dates, but July 8th I’m picking myself up and cleaning my house. I won’t muck around if my blood pressure picks up but I’m not going to lie there and wait. But in typing this, I’m also thinking he just tossed me that date to remind me he’s in charge. I’m predisposed to early babies, does he really think I’d go to the end anyway? Over my dead body July 28th.
So tomorrow is Father’s Day and I’m grateful we got Remo’s things early (a disc he wanted, three pairs of shorts and a clock radio). I’d have gotten something special except I’m still sensitive about Mother’s Day. It was cute though because Brandan and I brought the packages up to his room to hide and he immediately opened his desk drawer and told me he always hides presents in there. To which I thought wondered WHAT presents did he always hide there? It was a kiss his nose moment. Brandan and I are going to get up early to make breakfast for Remo. We decided on English muffins with ham (we baked it yesterday), eggs and melted cheese. French toast (I can sit on the stools with him to make it), strawberries, blueberries and nectarines that I’m obsessed with. At nine o’clock, Brandan has a soccer game and in the afternoon, Brandan and Sabrina are taking their dads to see Finding Nemo though we haven’t yet ironed out what we’re doing for supper. I think he wants to order Szechuan.
The highlight of my week? I lost two pounds. Since the belly grew just the same, I decided it fell out of my legs and I LOVE it. Though yesterday I saw a couple on the Dating Story eating scoops of ice cream and couldn’t survive last night without going to pick out three scoops of my own and having the girl at Baskin Robbins slap on hot fudge and nuts. I reclined in the van for the whole outing and it was worth it, except for the headache. For three days I’ve had a migraine. Thankfully it only kills me when I sneeze, laugh or bend my head down. I ate that ice cream and could feel a throw up coming on. It was a bowl the size of my head full of chocolate and the act of being sick, the pressure it put on my poor unassuming skull, was unbelievable. When I was finished I wondered what I’d done. Ham for supper and chocolate for dessert? My headache will never be cured.
Just learned something from the show I’m half watching while I’m typing this. Ten seconds of idling your car wastes more gas than turning the engine off and on.
Wastes money and pollutes the environment. And getting back to my perfect peach tip of last week? I did some peaches and nectarines in a bowl and some in a paper bag and the paper bag ones came out way better. I daresay incredible even. Yesterday I saw Oprah, it was a show on how the men can learn how to cook. It was cute and I decided we’re going to have to organize a little dinner party where the men have to plan, choreograph and cook a delicious meal for the girls. But what really intrigued me was the soup her chef prepared, roasted tomato and red pepper. Oprah swears it’s her favorite soup in the world, I’m going to pick up the recipe and copy it on my board for anybody interested. My aunt and I are going to try to make it this week so I’ll offer up an opinion when I make one.
Another reason I have to get up and at it, the kids have their 2 year and 5 year checkups this month and I need to postpone them till I can go. It takes a Mom to do a checkup properly. Kaillan’s complained here and there that her tummy has a boo boo, when she’s not otherwise sick or bothered or I know even that we’re not about to be blessed with a bowel movement. One minute she’s fine and then I see on her face when she gets that pain. Then it’s gone. At this point I’ve chalked it up to gas, I’d feel better if our doctor would reassure me. I was talking to a couple girlfriends lately about the kids eating habits and I realize we’re really lucky because our kids are liberal eaters. I can get them to eat most vegetables, they love asparagus and broccoli even. They’ll eat things like salmon and shrimp, lentils and they love fruit. It kills me because when I met Remo I wouldn’t even eat tomatoes. His mother would make pasta and I’d scrape off the sauce. I’ve come an impressive long way. Both kids have a sweet tooth, Kaillan could eat a cookie every fifteen seconds. At first she expected Brandan to get them for her. It was her nerve in reading him the riot act for something and then expecting him to go now and get her a cookie. When I caught on and told Brandan not to fetch her treats she stared warming up to Remo. He’s usually distracted enough that he’ll oblige. Though I read him the riot act, he never learns. John Travolta said something that paused me. He said a son’s love a father has to earn. But a daughter loves them unconditionally, wholeheartedly, from the start.
That’s it for me, here’s wishing you a fantabulous week. Get into some serious fun.
Allisun
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