How do you measure a year?
- January -
- February -
*MARCH*
- April -
- May -
- June -
- July -
- August -
- September -
- October -
- November -
- December -
2010: What an amazing year it's been!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Dear Me: I haven't forgotten you
A baby changes everything.
It sounds like a country song - probably because I'm pretty sure it is.
But country twang or not, it is certainly the truth.
It's funny how even really, really good things can steal little pieces of who you are. It happens a little at a time, so slowly you don't even notice they've gone missing.
Hang with me, I promise I'm going somewhere with this...
I went to the gym yesterday. Not the gym I had to go to over the summer because it's the only one I could find with daycare that worked for Leah. MY gym. The gym I used to go to before I was pregnant. And I took the class that I used to take at least 3 times a week pre-Baby.
And it was awesome.
Being in that gym and doing moves that felt familiar to my muscles even after all this time (cough - like 15 months - cough) felt like I might actually be in here still somewhere.
Not pregnant Melissa.
Not new-mom Melissa.
Not the Melissa who can barely multitask anymore.
Not the Melissa who looses her keys.
Not the Melissa who randomly forgets words and calls everything "thingy."
Not Melissa who worries about things like milk supply and breastpumps.
Not the Melissa who worries all the time about everything.
Me.
The me that I was for 25 years. The me whose body belongs to, well, me. The me who is strong and tough and healthy - and for no one else besides myself.
The new Melissa is improved in many ways, and frankly, I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything in the world. But it is nice to know that the old Melissa isn't completely gone. It's taken 18 months to find her, but she's still in there.
Goal for the new year (and OHO, what a goal it is!): Go to the gym three times a week. This means getting up at - gulp - 4 am Mondays and Wednesdays. Hey, you never know until you try, right?
It sounds like a country song - probably because I'm pretty sure it is.
But country twang or not, it is certainly the truth.
It's funny how even really, really good things can steal little pieces of who you are. It happens a little at a time, so slowly you don't even notice they've gone missing.
Hang with me, I promise I'm going somewhere with this...
I went to the gym yesterday. Not the gym I had to go to over the summer because it's the only one I could find with daycare that worked for Leah. MY gym. The gym I used to go to before I was pregnant. And I took the class that I used to take at least 3 times a week pre-Baby.
 |
| I don't have a single picture of me in work-out mode. So here's Jessica and me running the Bolder Boulder in May 2009. One of my favorite rituals, which I would LOVE to recapture, was our work-out and coffee Thursdays. Those were SO the days! |
And it was awesome.
Being in that gym and doing moves that felt familiar to my muscles even after all this time (cough - like 15 months - cough) felt like I might actually be in here still somewhere.
Not pregnant Melissa.
Not new-mom Melissa.
Not the Melissa who can barely multitask anymore.
Not the Melissa who looses her keys.
Not the Melissa who randomly forgets words and calls everything "thingy."
Not Melissa who worries about things like milk supply and breastpumps.
Not the Melissa who worries all the time about everything.
Me.
The me that I was for 25 years. The me whose body belongs to, well, me. The me who is strong and tough and healthy - and for no one else besides myself.
The new Melissa is improved in many ways, and frankly, I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything in the world. But it is nice to know that the old Melissa isn't completely gone. It's taken 18 months to find her, but she's still in there.
Goal for the new year (and OHO, what a goal it is!): Go to the gym three times a week. This means getting up at - gulp - 4 am Mondays and Wednesdays. Hey, you never know until you try, right?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Christmas Post
After waiting for this day for 9 months, and very possibly the 9 before that, I almost don't know what to write about this Christmas.
Should I write about the fun and anticipation of bringing the baby downstairs to her first Christmas morning?
Should I write about her stocking that was hung by the chimney with care, or the beautiful presents under the tree?
Should I write about the way Leah was more interested in the tags and bows and wrappings than the actual presents themselves?
Should I write about how the weather outside was anything BUT frightful? That we took a walk and it was nearly 60 degrees outside? The fact that this winter has been the least snowy since the 1920's?
Or, should I write about the snuggly, cuddly baby we had all day? About the way she kept crawling over to me, wherever I was, and climbing up to lay her head on my shoulder? About all the giant, open-mouth kisses she was giving away?
Should I write about the complete joy and contentment I felt while watching our sweet girl encounter Christmas for the first time?
Should I write about the fun and anticipation of bringing the baby downstairs to her first Christmas morning?
Should I write about her stocking that was hung by the chimney with care, or the beautiful presents under the tree?
Should I write about how the weather outside was anything BUT frightful? That we took a walk and it was nearly 60 degrees outside? The fact that this winter has been the least snowy since the 1920's?
Or, should I write about the snuggly, cuddly baby we had all day? About the way she kept crawling over to me, wherever I was, and climbing up to lay her head on my shoulder? About all the giant, open-mouth kisses she was giving away?
Should I write about the complete joy and contentment I felt while watching our sweet girl encounter Christmas for the first time?
Should I write about the fact that it has felt like Christmas every single day in our house for the past 9 months since Leah joined us? That Casey and I got so much more for Christmas this year than just presents? How we've been blessed in bigger and more amazing ways than either of dreamed possible?
I just can't decide.
We hope you had a merry Christmas, and that the New Year brings abundant blessings!
Friday, December 24, 2010
'Twas the Night Before
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...
The table was set,
for the guests to arrive.
There was still work to be done in the kitchen,
but the work under the tree was well finished!
Before our meal (and before someone had visions of sugarplums dancing in her head), we had to celebrate a little lady's first Christmas.
The meal was delicious, the company was lovely, and we enjoyed the magic of the season with our baby girl for the first time.
Oh, and there may have been some last minute present wrapping, cookie eating and holiday special-watching as well... but that was all after everyone left.
We can't wait to see what Santa leaves under our tree this year!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Baby in the manger
I loved the hospital where I delivered Leah.
Beautiful mountain views; comfortable queen bed so that Casey could stay with me; surprisingly yummy meals brought to me in bed; excellent care by the doctors and nurses - it was all I could have ever asked for.
I've been thinking a lot about how very different an extra special birth was 2000 years ago.
How terrified Mary must have been. To be pregnant generally in a time before hospitals and doctors and anesthetic and sterilization, but how much more so to be pregnant with none other than the son of God. To find that there was not even room at the inn; to know that the King of Kings - and her baby boy - would be born in a manger next to donkeys and cattle.
I have always had a hard time conceptualizing God's love for His creation. It is just so big and so vast - it's like trying to imagine the scope of the universe. I can't quite wrap my mind around it.
It is easier for me to imagine and relate to Mary looking down at her baby, and the infinite love she felt for him. From that perspective, God's love is a lot easier to pin down; the love of a Father who has numbered even the very hairs on my head. A love that is limitless and unchanging. A love that desires to watch me grow and flourish and asks very little of me in return.
This year, I can relate to that a little better.
I feel a great kinship toward Mary. Not because I experienced hardship in giving birth. Not because of the world-altering significance of the baby I bore (to anyone besides myself, that is.) But because I am convinced that the experience of motherhood, and looking into the sweet face of a newborn is as close as we can get on this Earth to looking into the face of God.
Beautiful mountain views; comfortable queen bed so that Casey could stay with me; surprisingly yummy meals brought to me in bed; excellent care by the doctors and nurses - it was all I could have ever asked for.
I've been thinking a lot about how very different an extra special birth was 2000 years ago.
How terrified Mary must have been. To be pregnant generally in a time before hospitals and doctors and anesthetic and sterilization, but how much more so to be pregnant with none other than the son of God. To find that there was not even room at the inn; to know that the King of Kings - and her baby boy - would be born in a manger next to donkeys and cattle.
I have always had a hard time conceptualizing God's love for His creation. It is just so big and so vast - it's like trying to imagine the scope of the universe. I can't quite wrap my mind around it.
It is easier for me to imagine and relate to Mary looking down at her baby, and the infinite love she felt for him. From that perspective, God's love is a lot easier to pin down; the love of a Father who has numbered even the very hairs on my head. A love that is limitless and unchanging. A love that desires to watch me grow and flourish and asks very little of me in return.
This year, I can relate to that a little better.
I feel a great kinship toward Mary. Not because I experienced hardship in giving birth. Not because of the world-altering significance of the baby I bore (to anyone besides myself, that is.) But because I am convinced that the experience of motherhood, and looking into the sweet face of a newborn is as close as we can get on this Earth to looking into the face of God.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Joyful All Ye
Holiday tradition #3:
Christmas Party!
The best part of this tradition might be getting to go back through the years and see the many changes our little circle of friends have gone through.
Case and point?
 |
| The Girls 2007 Married: 1 (Dani, far right) |
 |
| Guys 2007 |
 |
| Girls 2008 Married: 2 Engaged: 1 |
 |
| The (very over-exposed) Gang 2008 |
 |
| Girls 2009 Married: 4 Engaged: 1 Pregnant: 1 |
 |
| Guys 2009 |
 |
| The Gang 2010 Married: 4 Engaged: 1 Pregnant: 1 Baby... well, obvious. |
We feel so fortunate to walk through life with this tremendous group of people. It's been an odd year for Casey and I from a social perspective... having a baby definitely complicates the whole friendship situation.
Through all of that, though, it is nice to know that we have a set of lifelong friends to share the adventure with.
Overheard in the Strassner House
Me: "Leah, can you say 'Momma?'"
Leah: (Grinning) "Da-dee"
Me: "Can you say 'Mommy?'"
Leah: "Nah-nah.
Me: (Louder and slower) "Mom - mee"
Leah: (Pauses, thinking)......
...."Dadada!"
We'll get there - there's always next year!
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