Author: hannah.ananas

Today was a service day for me and a few other teachers, along with one grade of students that we all teach. When we arrived at the place, and old colleague I used to visit regularly across campus – at my previous school, that is – was walking out of the building as we were preparing to unload our busses. I called out to her from the open bus door, as I leaned over the railing wall in front of my first row of seats. She was excited to see me. I confirmed she wasn’t leaving, and she told me that she works there. I knew she would be even more excited when she saw me clearly and up close. Sure enough, she was absolutely thrilled and congratulated us.

We ended up spending most of our time under her direction, and it was lovely to reconnect and just hang with her. There was one point that I said to her, “You are such a boy mom,” because of how she had interacted with and spoken to one of the girls. She wasn’t mean at all, but she had been straightforward and a touch fierce in a way that these girls were definitely not accustomed. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the girl hadn’t been incredibly embarrassed and even cried a bit over it. Her words and sentiment were both valid and important, but girls are much more sensitive than boys when t comes to corrections. What’s more, these girls aren’t accustomed to being accountable for their behavior or to thinking of others first, let alone being made aware of the rudeness of their own behavior. I loved that she called out the student on it, but it was also clear that she wasn’t used to girls. It was hilarious to witness, and also a touch vindicating.

The time there was a good experience as a whole. Though, the bus ride home was hard on my body. But the chatting with girls on the way home was awesome.

Then, the other teachers decided we were allowed to leave once the students had been dismissed, even though the school placed official work hours for all faculty this year – total waste of time, by the way, and infuriating… I get work done in the mornings, not the afternoons, and even more so these days while pregnant… but our hours are set to force us to work at the end of the day and not before school almost at all, so I get nothing done in the afternoons, because my brain and body are beyond done at that point, and I go sue the bathroom and stand and wait to be allowed to leave when other employees go waking by to leave. So, we a headed to the parking garage together and left school when we should have been allowed to leave in the first place. That was a huge relief.

Then I joined the Oktoberfest celebration at my grandma’s place, and enjoyed the food and drinks and company and atmosphere with her and my mom and my husband.

Then I got to snuggle with my husband on the sofa in a position that was actually quite comfortable for me. For about ten minutes, we just lay there together. He went ahead and placed his hand in my belly when we first lay down, and, sure enough, he got to feel some real and obvious baby movements. I was delighted. I only started to feel the clear physical movements a week or two ago, and they only became 3-D, meaning visible, two days ago. He had felt some tiny bumps the first night of it all, but I think it was hard for him to believe what he had felt. Today’s movements were much bigger ones, and I think it helped make it very clear that, no, I wasn’t just doing that myself. (He had said that the first night, ‘Isn’t that just you don’t that?’) It’s a crazy concept, and it still weirds me out, but I’m growing accustomed to it all pretty quickly, it seems. Even when the baby is clearly pushing repeatedly on organs or nerve clustered, I’m learning to adapt to the bizarre and slightly paralyzing events, merely pausing briefly while they happen and I readjust physically.

And then, he got up and I passed out hard core on the sofa. I woke up over two and a half hours later, and went to get ready for bed. So, I’m going to bed way later for me, but I’ve already had more than a couple hours of sleep. Hopefully, it will go well for tomorrow.

Now, it is just after eleven PM. I’m about to pass out again, and my husband is sitting in the bedroom with me, working on his computer and just being around me, because I asked him if he could tonight for a bit. It’s awesome. I have been feeling so lonely these days, so every bit makes a huge difference. And it’s really exciting to get to see my husband for a while right before bed, a time when he is usually heading off to the gym instead. But he already went while I was passed out on the sofa, and is back home for the night. My brain is at ease, knowing he’s home, and my body is at ease chemically, spending time with him hanging in the room with me. 🙂

All in all, today was quite a decent day. I had tough moments and times, like when I wasn’t sure that I wasn’t going to piss myself on the buss, or else have explode diarrhea. Or when it got really loud with the students while they had free time. But it was satisfying as a whole. It wasn’t exactly a good day, but it was a satisfying one. And I’m grateful for that.

Thank you, God, for the balances of today. Help us to be well and to be safe, please. Keep my husband safe, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

We had a rodeo meeting tonight. I wasn’t thrilled at having to be out and about so much and so late, but I always enjoy seeing the people and being part of something I like so much. So, though it was tiring and noisy at times, I enjoyed my evening and the meeting and the hangout time around the meeting. One day, I will go with them to the after-hangout restaurant. However, not while I’m still teaching. It’s just too tiring under normal circumstances to be out so late on a school night. Currently, it’s loads harder, being pregnant and all.

So, thank you, God, for the good and loving company tonight at the meeting. Thank you for helping me truly to feel loved and supported. Thank you. Keep my husband safe, please. Make me and the baby well and safe, too, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

Have no worries. Literally, “Make yourself no worries.” It came up as the recommended/offered prayer meditation on Hallow today, the prayer app. Well, tonight, not today. The name of it, the message of the name, just felt so perfect for right now in my life, I went ahead and played it.

So, now I shall meditate on releasing my fears and worries and on trusting God fully to manage the beauty in my life.

Thank you, God. Keep me and the baby safe, please, and my family. Keep my husband safe, please. And grant us a beautiful and well and safe baby in our arms on January 11 this coming year. Make the birth easy for us and the baby, please. Guide us with your hands. If it be your will, of course. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

My brain just isn’t doing it these days. If something is mentioned to me, of course, I write it down immediately or add it to my calendar directly. But it has to be brought up. I know we have rodeo meetings the first Wednesday of each month, starting roughly in August or September. But I also always put them in my calendar when they are first mentioned in an e-mail or at our first meeting. However, I didn’t have any in my calendar before tonight, aside from our first meeting this month. Fortunately, we got an e-mail today telling us about the meeting this week. But it kind of freaked me out. I always put them all into my calendar as soon as they are mentioned each year. And, I guess, they just weren’t mentioned in our first meeting, and they weren’t in the follow-up e-mail either (which came quite late, actually, in terms of the info we were waiting to receive in it). Even still, it took me off guard that I had nothing in my calendar, and it freaked me out a bit that I could have potentially missed it, let alone others, because my brain wasn’t automatically waiting for the first Wednesday of the month for our next meeting.

Does that make sense? It does to me, anyway… things are just harder now, both physically and mentally. And emotionally, too, really, and hormonally. Extroversion and dirtiness have become immensely difficult for me in recent months, and both wipe me out energetically like crazy.

Lord, help me to do well on all you call me to do. Make me and this baby well, please, and keep us and my family safe. Keep my husband especially safe, please. Thank you for this family and for this future into which we are getting finally to grow. Thank you. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

I may have overstayed at the house of our old neighbor friends today, but it’ll be okay. I had intended just to stop by for a few minutes and then leave. However, when I walked in, they basically handed me the baby and started doing other stuff. His mom had been holding the baby. When I leaned over just to see the kid, she stood right up off the sofa, handed me the baby, and walked off. Maybe ten minutes or so later, she told her son she ‘d be back after a while, and she left the house. I didn’t see her again today.

I didn’t even get to give them the gift I’d brought for them, the whole reason for the visit, for at least half an hour, because I had the baby. When they determined to have him nurse, I got the gifts and presented them – they were well received. And I thought I might then head out. However, the baby finished nursing, and they just gave him right back to me. So, we al hung out and chatted while I chilled with the baby. We had snacks together and just had a nice time. Then I was about to get up to go again, when the baby was truly ready to nurse – he hadn’t been fully ready the first time, and had passed out hard core after almost no time at all – and the husband had to go get something from the store, so he asked if I could stay to help the wife as needed. (She had a c-section just over a week ago, and so can’t pick up their toddler. I was basically a sort of babysitter for the toddler while he was gone.)

Once he left, the wife clearly had some venting she needed to do, se thoughts and emotions she had been holding in that needed release. So, I accepted her tidal wave o’ stuff.

Then, I was getting up to go again, after the husband was back, and they asked if I was staying for dinner. I said that I was not planning to do so, as I did not want to intrude, since I had already been there so long. They very comfortably told me I was absolutely welcome to stay. It was easier than figuring out what food I was supposed to eat at home, so I went ahead and accepted.

Finally, after dinner was over and the husband had walked the dog, I got myself out of there. I had had zero intentions of being there past a few minutes, and so it kind of freaked me out that I’d been there for several hours. I really hoped and still do that they truly didn’t mind and that I was also helpful while there.

Post-a-day 2024

I had a really satisfying appointment today with the midwife. My blood work all looked really good, aside from the one thing we knew was going to be low, the ferric reading. So, I need to go ahead and double the iron supplements I’m taking, though on the other half of the day, since the body can only absorb so much at once. I have to start drinking a magnesium supplement soon, too, in addition to the magnesium lotion I use before bed each night. Mg helps with sleep, but also helps balance what increased Fe intake can kind of make go wonky. But she said Mg is a big deal for the last few months, as are the iron levels. If the latter aren’t at least double what they are now by the time of my next appointment, she said I will have to have a one-time IV to get the necessary iron supplementation. So, all the more reason to sort it out before then(!).

Anyway, utterly exhausted tonight. Had lunch with my mom after the appointment, and it was a very nice time together, though I struggled with the food and don’t manage much beyond grains. Then I had my high school reunion – it’s an annual thing for all alumnae, with just special focus on the reunions that are multiples of five that year. People from my class actually showed up this year, and it was really fun just getting to hang and chat with them. They were mostly people with whom I hadn’t really been friends, but whom I, of course, had known. Yet it was still great. It helped with the sense of loneliness in life lately. AND my husband actually came with me, and it was so wonderful to have him there. He ended up hanging out on a sofa in a corner when we were doing a class photo, and then I basically didn’t see him again until he left close to an hour later. But it meant so much to me that he was there and was supporting me. I felt safe, somehow, because of it. Not that school feels unsafe. Just that I felt the experience distinctly of safety with his being there with me. I ended up staying another hour and a half after he left. It was a really good time for me, just being with people, and also connecting with some on a personal level. It was really nice.

Thank you, God, for this day. Thank you for the Mass and the reunion and lunch and the appointment and the safe travels and the weather. Thank you. Help me to sleep well, please. Make me and the baby well. Keep my husband safe, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

I shared with a sort of friend/long-time acquaintance/recent-ish mentor yesterday about how I did a short practice session on my coding program, how I actually remembered most of the stuff, and how relieved I was that my brain still could do it, given all the nonsense lately. And then, to have that all make sense, I shared with him some photos and the fact that we’re expecting a baby in January. He was absolutely delighted for us. He and I had met up just after the first one had ended, and so he knew about that. We hadn’t really been in touch much since that time. Mostly because I had been so sick once I was pregnant again, I wasn’t really in touch with anybody.

Anyway, he started going in about this app and now immensely helpful it was for them and how he can’t recommend it enough. He said he had been very involved in raising his first child, but didn’t have the app until his second child. For that, it made a huge world of a difference for him and his wife, apparently. It’s one that warns about and explains about the brain development that is happening within the baby, and helps give clarity to sudden periods of fussiness, clinginess, and lack of sleeping for the baby – no, not for adults… we’re still on our own there! It lists the brain milestones and what specifically is changing for the baby at the time, and it even has a sort of alert to inform you of an upcoming change in the baby’s behavior and all. He said the app had everything make sense for them, and it made everything easier to handle with the baby, just knowing what on earth was going on. Versus that the baby was just suddenly being unable to operate normally as it had days beforehand.

So, anyway, the app is for a 24-month period. It wasn’t clear if it then re-charged for another period after that, or if it is a one-time purchase (because there are monthly and yearly options, too). So, he straight up Zelled us the money for purchasing the two-year thing twice. He said he really wanted to gift it to us, because the app is just that good and helpful, and he wanted us to be sure to have it. He also said to let him know if it ends up costing more than he gave us, because he is also very considerate and knows the finances are very hard for us right now, and also that he is the reason for the expense in the first place. Super respectful and sweet, of course. I am, naturally, grateful. Both for the likely very helpful recommendation and for the access to said recommendation. Thank you, T.

And thank you, God, for that small and significant blessing, especially amidst all the struggle lately. Help us continue to experience your love and care toward us, please. Make clear out next step in your south for us, please. And help us to love one another well and truly. Help us to honor one another. Make me and the baby well. Keep my husband safe, please. Take care of my family and their safety and well-being, please. Lead all souls to you in this life and afterward, especially those in leadership positions. Help us to sleep well each night. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

I spent most of today feeling rather dreadful. The nausea, the explosive diarrhea, the physical discomfort of that and organs being pushed… all added up for a very tough day for me today. I did get some things done when I got home this evening, and I’m quite grateful for all of that. But the feeling good enough to do things was a short stint, and then I fell back into nausea and slight misery.

So, I go to sleep now, having made important progress, but feeling terrible. And also feeling like I’m still so far behind on it all.

God, help me to see clearly your next step for me and to take it comfortably and confidently. Keep me and the baby and my husband and my family safe, please. Make us well and whole. Help us to sleep well each night, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

I think that’s what they’re called, but I’m actually not sure. Whatever the case, I went to one tonight with my husband. I had thought it was an event for the community, like a happy hour-esque event for everyone just to mingle for a bit. It surprised me that my husband was so stressed about arriving only minutes after the start time, until we walked inside. Suddenly, the very few cars in the parking lot made sense. It was not a mingling event. It was a meeting. Haha

Oops. Somehow misunderstood that flyer. No wonder my husband was surprised I was going with him. Haha

Anyway, I actually liked going. Sort of, anyway. The German in me always sees immediately the room for improvement on anything I cross. However, it was neat to see the different stuff they manage and how (or how not). It was also cool to be able to provide input on things here and there. And also to hear that other neighbors, whom we don’t know, have similar experiences and feelings about things in the neighborhood.

So, it was cool to have gone.

And, naturally, I got myself volunteered for something. They had mentioned several things where I was interested in our participating or helping run the event or whatever. But my husband basically declined everything with a bit of ferocity, so I did not offer us up for any of them. However, on the final point, when they mentioned that the newsletter is only in English and they are considering putting it into “translation software”, which means Google Translate, of course, I was not willing to allow it. My husband agreed that it was fair to offer my help ‘as I am able’. So, I was clear that I wasn’t committing to doing the whole newsletter every month – it’s apparently a four-page thing, according to my husband – but that I would do what I could to make it turn into Spanish as often as possible. I also said it wouldn’t be perfect, but that it would communicate. Everyone seemed happy and excited about that, which was cool. And it was fun for me to be stepping out of my comfort zone with reasonably low stakes, but also a chance to grow and improve myself and my skills tremendously in the process. So, that sort was very cool.

We even ended up talking with this one guy afterward. He just started talking to me in Spanish afterward – also, he was clearly on the board or something, but I don’t know his position – and so I replied, and we and some others had an oddly mixed conversation of Spanish for the two of us and my husband and English when talking with everyone else. It was silly, but cool, too. He’s originally from El Salvador, so he speaks Spanish natively. However, he said he truly cannot write Spanish. He said his daughter can, but that he cannot, otherwise he would have volunteered for the newsletter. I told him that I could write it, and he could read it and let me know what I needed to fix. He laughed, but seemed to find it actually a very reasonable proposition.

It was a fun ending to the meeting.

And then we had to rush home to sell one of the high chairs to a guy from Marketplace. It was a successful transfer, and I hadn’t dropped the price on the chair again yet, so it was for $5 more than I had thought. Even better – yippee(!). Haha

So, anyway, good evening.

Thank you, God, for this evening. Thank you for my husband and my mother. Keep us and the baby all safe, please. Make me and the baby well. Help us all to sleep well at night and to rise early each morning, ready to go. Help us always to see clearly our next step in pursuing and fulfilling your will. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2024

While presents are cool, surprise presents are kind of the absolute best! my husband messaged me this evening to tell me that there was something for me on the bench at home. He said not to worry if I didn’t like it. I was very interested as to what this little surprise might be. It truly could have gone either direction, based on what he had said.

By the time I got home, I had actually forgotten about it. Remember, my brain doesn’t quite work normally these days. But, of course, when I did get home, I was distracted by something to the side… on the bench…. and I remembered!

And I was beyond excited! He had gotten me a sweatshirt that is black with skeleton bones meant to be of the person wearing the sweatshirt, who is very clearly a pregnant woman, because there’s a baby skeleton hanging out across the bottom of the sweatshirt! It’s an adorable version of a Halloween sweatshirt for when pregnant. I’m a huge fan.

He got home only minutes later, and I got to try it on and take a photo. It lines up really well on my actual body and where the baby is actually sitting, and it was just super fun and exciting for me.

Post-a-day 2024