Made for each other by way of the granola bar

Every now and then a series of events occurs in your marriage that further proves you and your spouse are meant to be together. One day in mid November I was busy getting ready for a couple of late morning classes. I was feeling a little snacky and remembered there were some of those yummy chewy granola bars in the cupboard that Jose had sent us. I opened one, ate half of it, set it down and then immediately forgot where I put it. I considered the fact that I may have finished it, regardless I was still a bit peckish so I started in on the other one. Again I opened the wrapper, ate half, put it down and forgot about it. I finished packing up and left for class.

I didn't think about this again until Nov 26, the day of our TIEC Thanksgiving dinner. There were about 10 of us preparing food in the kitchen and we were discussing the sad fact that my memory was shrinking by at least 50% every week that my pregnancy was advancing. I told everyone about the granola bar incident and that I was sure I didn't finish either bar but had never found them. Then Sean pipes up...it turns out he had come home before me the day I "lost" the bars. He found one half eaten granola bar and ate it without thinking about it. Then some time later he found the other one. He actually thought that it was the first one and that he had forgotten to eat it. So he ate the second one and didn't think anything of it. What a pair! Everyone in the kitchen had a good laugh at our expense and Sean and I weren't really that surprised with the way things turned out. I can see myself leaving the kid behind somewhere and Sean coming along and thinking "here's a cute kid, I think I'll take you home with me!".

Recommended Reading: “Bear With Me”

By: Diane Flacks
Available on amazon.ca
ISBN 0-7710-4764-9, $24.99 CDN

My sister Jose sent me this book from Ottawa. It arrived while Sean’s folks were here and Pat spent time reading parts of it, laughing, nearly crying and all the while reminiscing about her experiences of being pregnant. I found out my sister did the same thing in the bookstore before she bought it and then she took it home and read the whole thing before she sent it to me. This is by far the most frankly written and honest book I have read in quite some time. The author writes of her experiences while trying to conceive, being pregnant and going thru childbirth from a perspective few woman have ever given thought to let alone read about. She is unafraid to call the shitty stuff “shitty” and manages to keep her sense of humor through all the yucky parts. She calls her breasts “boobs” and her labia “pussy lips”. The first 3 chapters are titled…Getting Knocked Up, The First Weeks-I’m Backing Out and The First Trimester-Losing Control. One of the best parts of the book describes how the phrase “fer fuck’s sake” tacked itself on the end of every request the author made of her partner. “Do you think you could close the fridge door, fer fuck’s sake?!” Now that’s something I can relate to! This is the only pregnancy book I have read from cover to cover and although it’s not loaded with technical info this book best describes the emotional roller coaster ride aspect of being pregnant.

The gathering of information

There are sooo many friggin’ books written on preconception, getting pregnant, what to do while you’re pregnant, what not to do while you’re pregnant etc, etc. It’s a little daunting trying to figure out which ones to spend your hard earned dollars on. Not having access to a single page of printed material in English of the aforementioned topics I had to rely on reader reviews on the net and recommendations from friends and family. I have now acquired several books but my favorites are few. Not many pregnancy-related books are meant to be read from cover to cover as they are more reference related and contain unending miles of dry text strung together. That being said there are a few books that I simply could not have done without reading. Perhaps I’ll sporadically list my top 5 fav’s but not in any particular order of course!