After holding two briefings on Capitol Hill, and after a lot of stress associated with the process and aftermath, I am starting to be more comfortable with an identity that doesn't involve lobbying and advocacy. However, the expenses that are incurring with each considered renovation (no matter how minimal) are enough to have me looking at jobs non-stop in my spare time. I do not trust that I will be able to do a full-time hardcore job, such as I have now, while puking, etc. (though I know many a woman has done it - I don't desire to be one of them), so I have been looking at alternatives.
Briefing on the Hill...
Part-time nanny is appealing because there's some flexibility (with predictability), and it's good practice (and for a good cause, in a way), but no nanny-seekers have written me back (they want a nanny, not a lobbyist). Dog-walking fell off the list after I imagined being maimed by a pouty pouch. And so it is that I have come full-circle to the prospect of what I know and do best: lobbying and advocating. My field preference is changing, but I bet I will end up doing some kind of bleeding-heart work for peanuts, with a side of throw-up, at least until my body dictates otherwise. Part-time is the goal - I figure that will cover some home improvements, and my desire to get fun paint on the walls ASAP.
Some bleeding heart liberal leading a group in a march on the National Mall...I don't know her...After a very thoughtful email from Erik's sister Bianca, I am feeling less and less anxious and more excited about our decision to re-lo. As I fantasize about puffy tacos and frozen margaritas, cut-off jean shorts and tubing in the river, I realize that I've been suffocating my excitement, but that it still breathes deep within.
An incident last night fueled my fire just a bit more. I had a phone consulation with a guy named Jim at People's Rx in Austin (a pharmacy that has nutritionists and holistic Dr.'s on staff to encourage natural healing through nutrition, etc.) - he was very knowledgable about effective remedies for asthma during pregnancy, and the risks of the prescription that I currently take. He spent well over our scheduled half hour, giving me invaluable information that I have never heard about my lungs after 30 years of having asthma and spending time in Dr.'s offices to get prescriptions. NEVER have I heard about mucosal secretions, and soft muscle, and the positive affects of magnesium on asthma, among a breadth of over things. He was very thorough, and so laid-back, genuine and SUPPORTIVE vs. pompous and arrogant like most Dr.'s have been with me about this.
When we were done, I requested that he transfer me back to the front desk so that I could pay for my consult, but instead he told me not to worry about it. That is so Austin! I was blown away, and I can't wait to get to Austin so I can pay him with a gift certificate to a kickin' restaurant.
Something else that excites me (don't laugh, because I am seriously jumping the gun on this one...) is my recent joining of the Austin Organic Moms Meet-Up (it's called something like that) - it's a group of mom's that get together regularly for social things, but they are all women who are raising their kids with attachment parenting methods, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, etc. I'm hoping to also find women that are possibly living a gluten-free life for health reasons. They welcome pregnant women and those looking to start their families, and they include the men pretty often, too. Who knows what they're all really like, but I'm looking forward to possibly making friends with lots of like-minded people (not to mention connections for future jobs, etc. - you never know who you're going to meet! That's the DC part of me coming out...).
I'm enjoying the recent twinges of excitement that have been long overdue. As it down-poured here in DC last night, I put my chin on my windowseel and watched the rain bounce off the street at eye-level. It's at eye-level because we live in the basement and our windows literally open onto the street (the squirrels walk right up to the open window and eat from my hand). I thought about how I will probably never experience that little but strange phenomenon again, and how if I had raised a child here, they would probably know nothing else - how funny! Two weeks ago, I would have wept at the sight of rain hitting the street at eye-level, but last night I just smiled and enjoyed it for one of the last times.
An incident last night fueled my fire just a bit more. I had a phone consulation with a guy named Jim at People's Rx in Austin (a pharmacy that has nutritionists and holistic Dr.'s on staff to encourage natural healing through nutrition, etc.) - he was very knowledgable about effective remedies for asthma during pregnancy, and the risks of the prescription that I currently take. He spent well over our scheduled half hour, giving me invaluable information that I have never heard about my lungs after 30 years of having asthma and spending time in Dr.'s offices to get prescriptions. NEVER have I heard about mucosal secretions, and soft muscle, and the positive affects of magnesium on asthma, among a breadth of over things. He was very thorough, and so laid-back, genuine and SUPPORTIVE vs. pompous and arrogant like most Dr.'s have been with me about this.
When we were done, I requested that he transfer me back to the front desk so that I could pay for my consult, but instead he told me not to worry about it. That is so Austin! I was blown away, and I can't wait to get to Austin so I can pay him with a gift certificate to a kickin' restaurant.
Something else that excites me (don't laugh, because I am seriously jumping the gun on this one...) is my recent joining of the Austin Organic Moms Meet-Up (it's called something like that) - it's a group of mom's that get together regularly for social things, but they are all women who are raising their kids with attachment parenting methods, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, etc. I'm hoping to also find women that are possibly living a gluten-free life for health reasons. They welcome pregnant women and those looking to start their families, and they include the men pretty often, too. Who knows what they're all really like, but I'm looking forward to possibly making friends with lots of like-minded people (not to mention connections for future jobs, etc. - you never know who you're going to meet! That's the DC part of me coming out...).
I'm enjoying the recent twinges of excitement that have been long overdue. As it down-poured here in DC last night, I put my chin on my windowseel and watched the rain bounce off the street at eye-level. It's at eye-level because we live in the basement and our windows literally open onto the street (the squirrels walk right up to the open window and eat from my hand). I thought about how I will probably never experience that little but strange phenomenon again, and how if I had raised a child here, they would probably know nothing else - how funny! Two weeks ago, I would have wept at the sight of rain hitting the street at eye-level, but last night I just smiled and enjoyed it for one of the last times.
2 comments:
sister, I can't wait to see you in Austin. come on in, the water's fine.
You look amazing in that pic of you leading a march! You are my hero. You really are. I wish I was you.
in an earlier post you were listing pros and cons of moving to Austin. I am just gonna go ahead and add myself to your pros list. Why? Because I can't wait to see you, help you through this transition, be there for you when you go through pregnancy and enter motherhood, talk you in to going to baby day at the Alamo Drafthouse, hold your baby while you nap/shower/etc, share dinners with you and Erik, celebrate your birthday, walk in the mornings while its cool, drink coffee at Spider House, get gelato at Dolce Vita, eat gluten-free tex mex at Curra's, hang out with babies at Barton Springs, walk around the lake (well, with strollers), and housesit for you while you visit your friends in DC....
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