Jax went to his first funeral / memorial service today. It was for my boss's mother, whom I've never met. I went to support my boss and his family. It was a pleasant Catholic service, and I'll share one thing that stuck out to me. Since our church is so casual, in so many ways, it is always thought-provoking to visit a more liturgical church. I try to learn something new, or see something from a different perspective, that I can take away with me. In this service, it was something the priest said (I am paraphrasing heavily, since he spoke in a very refined manner that I cannot duplicate. But this is my interpretation of what he tried to get across). He spoke about salvation, how it is our new "birth". And he spoke about baptism, how it is the catalyst that says, "Live this new life now." First we have the birth, then we have the beginning of living the new life that follows the birth. And he talked about death being another form of baptism. Ushering us into a new "live THIS life now." The life that follows the one we have here on earth. Anyway, it moved me, and made me think about the way our physical and spiritual lives are intertwined.
Jax behaved himself beautifully, and at the reception that followed, brought smiles to the grieving family's faces.
This morning, before the service, I GOT MY BRACES OFF! They were still on for these outfit photos, but here's a phone pic of me with them off, still in the dentist office.
I've worn the braces for two and a half years. They ushered me from my twenties into my thirties. From life as a couple to life as a family. Into mommy-hood.
When I got them on, I insisted on having clear brackets on the upper teeth. I told the dentist, "I'm going to be wearing these braces when I turn thirty. I'm going to be wearing these braces when I deliver my first child. I'm not going to do that with a bunch of silver metal in my mouth. I want to have photos where they at least kind of disappear." I had my braces done at the dental school here in town, in the graduate resident clinic, and I feel they did a superb job. I got a retainer today also, and it is clear, like the Invisalign braces. Sweet.
My necklace is "real." It's garnet, and has matching earrings, which my hair is covering. And a beautiful ring which I'm wearing on the hand behind my back (which is hiding because I'm holding the camera remote control in it). The set is a gift from my mom, and I love it. It can look purple, or brown, or red, and the antique colored silver goes perfectly with so many things.
I wore this dress pregnant (twenty five weeks). It is not a maternity dress. In fact, it's a dress in my usual non-pregnant size. But the cut of it made it super cute while I was pregnant. Early on in my pregnancy, my abdominal muscles separated in an unusual way, and they didn't go back after he was born. They are still about two inches separated. It's called diastasis recti. It's not a problem unless my intestines decide they want to try to exit through the gap. As long as my intestines stay inside, it won't be a big deal. The point is, it means my stomach is never gonna go back to its pre-pregnancy state. Which I wasn't expecting anyway, but I won't ever really get nice flat abs back, like I used to have. I will most likely always have a little poof centered about behind my belly button. So today, wearing this dress, someone asked if I was pregnant. Sigh. I tried not to be annoyed, but it didn't work.
It's okay though, really. I never expected my body to be the same after carrying and nursing a child. In fact, I don't need it to be the same. I've changed, inside and out. And I'm fine with that. My body did an amazing thing, growing and birthing this child, and now nourishing him as he grows, and I am so amazed and grateful. And I wouldn't trade this amazing, joyful, delightful, adorable son of mine for flat abs or full night's sleep or time to myself or anything else that I have willingly said "buh bye" to since he entered my world. He is worth it all and more.
HERS | Dress Old Navy | Tank Old Navy | Shoes Walmart | Necklace and Earrings, gift, real garnet
HIS | Shirt Chaps by Ralph Lauren | Pants Garanimals | Shoes Pediped | Socks Thrifted
