These are the Days

As you can see from the pics in the post below, I had a few friends over on the weekend for a "non-shower" (or "Blessingway") get-together to celebrate Baby Boy Rector's upcoming arrival.

Even though we didn't need a traditional, give-us-lots-of-gifts event, I still wanted to take the time to pause and think about the fact that a new soul was entering the world. I think I was also hoping that it would help the reality to sink in a bit more - I still am totally shocked that we're going to have a new baby some day soon.

I'm not sure the gathering totally worked but with everyone being so busy now, I was at least glad for the chance to sit and chat with friends in the grass for an afternoon.

One thing that we did was all bring a text to read that was related to babies/birth/motherhood. Of course, I chose the lyrics to Barefoot Floors, since they do a good job of capturing some of the feelings I've had, plus I was running out of time (it's hard to mop a floor with a one year old and a big belly!). Other people brought books, poems, lists ("How to Love a Child") and even read from the Tao Ching.

My favourite, oddly enough, though, was from my husband. As we were getting ready for people to arrive, he put on some music (10,000 Maniacs) and said, "This should be your reading." It was the song "These are the Days" and when I looked up the lyrics later that night, I realized that it was very fitting, both for our pregnancy and our lives right now in general.

It's good for me to stop and think about things like this because I tend to focus on the things to worry about (e.g. How are we going to cope with two kids? How is Amelia going to handle another baby? How am I going to manage being at home with Mela during the last three weeks of pregnancy? How can I walk without starting to waddle?!).

This is why it's good for me to stop and try to appreciate the specialness of this time. For the rest of my life, I will look back on this very small little window of pregnancy and birth and think that it passed by in a heartbeat. I don't want it to miss it completely, no matter how busy I am.

The trick is, how do you force yourself to appreciate something?

These are the Days

These are the days
These are days you'll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky
It's true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you'll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You'll know it's true
That you are blessed and lucky
It's true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
Then you'll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
It's true
Then you'll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they're speaking
To you, to you