Busy Weekend

Started on Sunday... finished on Monday... Too tired...

So, on Saturday, the Cardinal was coming to our church to bless our newly relocated Tabernacle and our new, outdoor stations of the cross. I was due to sing at this Mass and Peter and I were invited to the special dinner afterwards, since I am a Sacristan. This was to be my first big outing, post surgery, and I was nervous all day. I took a shower, then was ready by 3:30 to leave, since it's 10 minutes away and we were due no later than 4pm. We received many hugs and folks loved the u/s pics. By 4pm, we were in the choir area and practicing. I had made the decision to sit the entire service, save getting Communion and my song. And I did. I didnt think sitting would be a big deal; after all, I sit in bed to eat. Wrong. About 15 minutes into Mass (so about 75 minutes since sitting), my back began to hurt. And hurt. And hurt. The only relief was standing and getting Communion and standing for the aforementioned duet. Afterwards, I laid down on a pew (once Mass was dismissed and everyone went to the blessing of the Stations then the pre-dinner reception. Laying down was so nice! When it was time to go to dinner, we walked to the parish center and to the parish library, now transformed into a dining room. It was very nice, but my back continued to throb. At one point, I actually left during the meal to walk outside in the cool evening. I was just so flushed and the walking relieved the pain. We got home at 9:30 and I was totally wiped out.

On a very nice note, though, the Cardinal was lovely. He visited each table several times to make sure all was well. But most touching was, before he left, he revisited our table and put one hand on my shoulder. With his other hand he gave me a blessing and told me he would be praying for our babies. As we were leaving, I stopped to chat with one of our priests, who had mentioned our situation to the Cardinal after dinner. In most cases, I tend to write off the "I'll pray" comments. People have great intentions, but we all know how life can get in the way. But I believe the Cardinal will pray. He is one of the kindest ministers I've met. Peter and I had the pleasure of meeting him and marching beside him during January's March for Life, and his unwavering commitment to babies- both in-utero and out- is amazing.

Sunday, our house was being converged on by 13 of Peter's family, mostly maternal cousins who we havent seen in many years and were visiting. And I was sore. My abs hurt, my back hurt, and worse, the brown spotting that had disappeared was back. I was a mess. Peter assured me that this was normal. That it was no surprise that old blood that wasnt expelled because I've been in bed was bound to show up on toilet paper after a lot of movement. I had no cramping (other than everyone's favorite gas pains) but just felt sore. :( I was in bed until his family arrived a little before one and sat in my rocking chair until 2:30, when my mother-in-law insisted I go to bed because I looked so tired and then kicked folks out! The super highlight of the day was when she introduced, in both English and Spanish, to each cousin, her grandchildren. She proudly pointed to each picture and proudly said, "This is my first grandson, Nicholas, and his twin sister, my granddaughter, Sophia, and this is their baby brother, my grandson, Alexander." I held it together during that. And we hosted the luncheon in the library, where my piano is and where a lot of pictures are, since it is right off the dining room and the living room, with the bed, isnt currently meant for more than 2 visitors, so there were many pictures to show off. But afterwards, when we were alone and Peter curled up next to me and held me tight, I just wept. I will never have the words to express how thankful I am... How, in the midst of everyone's excitement over this pregnancy, that she kept the memories of our babies alive. That she showed them off and, with a grandmother's pride, pointed out her beautiful grandchildren. That they weren't forgotten.

The soreness has dissipated. The brown spotting is very light and still isnt on my pad. I am almost finished with my second book,"Adventures in Natural Childbirth". A busy weekend that I'm happy to be recovering from back in bed. No more outings until Dr. B.'s on Thursday!