I know that hearing about other people's dreams isn't the most exciting entertainment in the world but I really want to jot this down before I forget about it. Pregnancy dreams are very strange and can be easily forgotten. I know they don't necessarily mean anything but I wanted to make note of them anyway.
A couple of nights ago I dreamed I "met" two of the little Israeli girls that I taught during an education internship. One of the little girls was the inspiration for Shayne's name. Her name was "Chen" but was prounounced in a very Hebrew and throaty sort of way (let's see if I can spell this phonetically -- "Hchkren"). She was one of my favorite students and learned a decent amount of English from me. She spoke almost no English when she arrived and was very shy. Her Mother told me (because I was probably slaughtering her daughter's name) that it would be fine for me to use the English translation of her name which was "Shayne." She told me, "her name means 'beautiful.'" Well, I loved it...and got pregnant that quarter...and the rest is history.
Chen's best friend was actually my FAVORITE of the little Israeli students. Her name was Nir. She was very outgoing and even though she spoke very little English at first, she picked it up VERY quickly. Because she was so friendly, she was able to have lots of help from all the adults and even other small children (around 3-5 years of age). Nir was awesome and I have often wondered how she is doing today.
So, now that you have the background, I'll follow up on the dream. I was walking down a sidewalk and there was an outdoor cafe where an Israeli family was drinking coffee. Instantly I knew the two teenage girls were Nir and Chen! I began speaking with them and asking if they remembered me. I could tell they couldn't remember me specifically but they definitely remembered the time when we were all together in their preschool years. Nir was still the outgoing one and did most of the talking (although I have no idea what we talked about) and Chen quietly smiled and sipped coffee. I told her about naming my first born "Shayne" and she found it a little strange and embarrassing.
I guess I dreamed this because of all the turmoil with Israel now. I really have always wondered how things were going with these families. All the Israeli families were in our area for military training (and were all pretty high-ranking) and I'm sure they've been involved in this situation in some way. Wouldn't it be cool if I really could see them in real life someday?
Now, last night's dream. It was really odd. There was a shirt and tie on a hanger that I just "had" to get back to its rightful owner. I couldn't remember who it was but knew that this shirt & tie (with tags attached but on a hanger and not in a package) had something to do with a birth I had doula-ed in a local hospital. I was inspecting the shirt for clues and found two cell phones in the shirt pocket. One had a dead battery and the other was charged but a phone I had never seen before. I wanted to scroll through the recently dialed numbers to see if I could figure out who the owner was. I tried looking through the address book but the functions on the phone were bizarre and I couldn't make sense of any of the commands or buttons. I eventually found my OWN number in there but it was listed with my maiden name and old telephone number (from over 13 years ago).
Somehow I concluded the shirt belonged to an OB and I started panicking that he was going to be furious because of the length of time I had kept his shirt and phones. But then I started rationalizing that he must not have really cared because no one had called me about it nor had anyone called the cell phone in days.
That's really all I remember. Not a lot of entertainment for you but makes me glad to know that I have documented this as part of the oddities of pregnancy.
*****************************And to update you on the pregnancy -- all is well. I believe I am beginning to feel my uterus buldge forward a little bit. I am still ABLE to wear my jeans but have only worn them out of "need" and not comfort. They come off the minute I am back home. I have been wearing a couple of maternity tees from Motherhood and have been reminded that this is NOT the store for me. The clothes are cute enough but these XL maternity shirts fit me almost like most people wear their non-mat shirts. I mean that the length on them hits me at about the same place most non-preggos have their tee shirts hit them. The store is SO NOT for tall people. The shirts will do fine for a short while but as soon as my belly REALLY buldges, these will have to be passed on to someone else.
I pulled out a pair of maternity Levis I had saved from Hudson's pregnancy and they are not going to work. The style (only a little while back -- he's 3 ya know) when I wore them allowed for much fuller and longer shirts. Therefore the panel on the front of these jeans was always covered by the top. I am learning that the NEW styles of shirts are much shorter and tighter and would NEVER cover this ugly black panel. So, I guess I won't be wearing these after all (unless the winter styles bring some bigger, longer cuts of shirts). I also kept a pair of my FAVORITE black pants but I haven't found them yet. I know they are somewhere.
I dread shopping for maternity clothes. You think shopping for REGULAR tall-girl clothes is difficult? Multiply that times 20 and you'll get close to the difficulty level I face very soon.
Ugh.
*****************************First let me tell you about the "Archie Bunker" type-man at church who boldly asked me (before we were announcing the pregnancy,) "Are you putting on weight?"
Of course I told him he was terribly rude to ask such a thing but it didn't seem to bother him. (This is the same old man who once asked me if I was having my period since I had blemishes!) This guy drives me nuts but I think I'm the only person who actually converses with him. I guess I'll continue putting up with his callous remarks in hopes I can show him some better manners along the way.
This past Sunday brought an opposite situation. I actually had one of the college girls come up to me and ask, "Are you losing weight?" I laughed and told her my current status. She seemed truly shocked. I'm hoping she really did think I was looking trimmer and not just being nosey in a weird way.
Last night helped me accept her question, though. Another gal, who knew I was pregnant said, "You're looking thinner. How is that?"
SO I'm guessing that my improved nutrition and increase in Mannatech products during pregnancy has given me SOME SORT of positive appearance change. Of course, I've always just loved pregnancy so maybe it's all thanks to that "glow" people talk about? Whatever it is, I'm very thankful to the kind ladies who made my day. I know I'm on the verge of whaling out so I'll cling to these comments for as long as I can!
1st - If one of these retractable pens were lying on the table just as it is in the picture, and I asked you to point to the "top of the pen", which end would you point to? The left side or the right side? (And "no" SMART ALECS, I'm not trying to turn this into a brainteaser where you would answer something like, "the top of the pen is the edge with the clip.")
