You.

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You calmed me.

Your voice, over the phone,

calmed me.

I could hear your fear for me

in your tone,

but I could also feel the love,

as you told me everything was

and will be okay.

I believed you, and

together, we breathed

in

out

sighing in relief

and that weight?

It fell off these shoulders,

misting into nothingness,

scattered and blown into the wind

by the timbre of your voice over that line,

pulling the laughter and smile that had hidden

inside me for the last few hours,

pasting them right on the edge of my heart,

and silently daring me to not laugh and smile as before,

when the weight had started to settle…

You. I just needed to hear your voice.

24 Weeks! February 28, 2015

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This week has been all about hiccups, gas, visible kicks and cramps. It has not been the best of weeks. I thought I could control my g.i issues but, damn, did you know that you could feel nauseated, hungry and extremely bloated at the same time? I found that out this week. So, I started drinking tea (peppermint, mint and lemongrass), offered kindly by my workmate. Lo and behold, after three days of ingesting this tea, I discovered that the ingestion of lemongrass is contraindicated for pregnant women. Ha. My workmate just held her head in her hands; she was the same one who gave me aloe vera gel for my heartburn episode. She swore that she would never ever offer me anything ever again…unless I googled it first and called my doctor. She was Continue reading →

Pendulum Day…

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Today was a pendulum. Highs and lows. I went to see about an apartment, got there and the guy told me that they do not rent to pregnant women. Low. Smells like discrimination to me. Then I tried to drive around to see some other places and didn’t really see anything that pulled me in. Low. I got tired all of a sudden and had to come home to nap in the middle of the day. A low and a high, because I love naps! Even when I am not pregnant. Then I attended a yoga workshop, stretching and moving for about an hour and a half, discovering that certain moves did wonders for my GI issues! Score. High. I rushed home right after because Toni was treating me to a night at the theater. I know, we are cultured. High. We went to see Wicked. Oh. My. Goodness. I loved it. I want to watch it again. It had depth, emotion, humor, costumery goodness, backdrop fabulosity and I do not know what other words I can use to describe the experience. It made me miss drama, writing, theater and all that goodness. What a great treat from my girl! So we came home, had some Del Taco and settled in to catch up with some Roku…lo and behold, Baby Austin decided to kick and you can see his kicks moving my belly! So trippy! As I sit here, he is still going strong and doesn’t seem to be holding any sort of rhythm but I am loving it! Definite high of the night. I want to try and record it and send it to his Papa. I am so glad he is letting me know that he is okay. What a wickedly good day as the highs far outweighed the lows!

Valentine’s and Rugby in Las Vegas

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254 love
Seattle folks
Er…
Rudge…
Georgie, the student. Throwback Starehe Boys Center uniform
Cheer!
Kenya EEEEH!
Right.
KE love
254
Sukuti cheers
Friends since the 90’s!
Maasai headwear
Shield 254
Love Rugby
Coppers and Fosters
The chicken walked into the stadium…
Loudspeaker shenanigans
The beer talks…and dances
Word up.
Festo and Muhindi
Sam Boyd Stadium
Rugby!
Cheering!
A lull in the game
Wallay!
Cotton deliciousness
That Pink Life
SA supporting KE
Beyaynetu aka veggie platter (lentils, gomen, cabbage, potatoes, red lentils, chickpea powdersoup (shiro) and injera)
Habesha dinner
Happy!
Bump Life
Leaving Las Vegas
Valentine’s Ethiopian dinner for my loves
My long time friend Festo meeting my bump!
Happy!
Bien from Sauti Sol
Ready!

A Stranger in the Corridor

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His eyes widened visibly at the sight of me. I looked away and continued to walk towards the corridor opening, veering left so I could avoid him, but I kept watching him from my peripheral vision. He stopped in his tracks.

‘God, you are pretty…’ he almost shouted the words at me, and I paused suddenly. He continued on,’You are so beautiful…I love your hair like that…you are just so beautiful…’

At this particular moment, I was a bit taken aback. This was a stranger. This was a deserted corridor at work. I had just come from heaving up my insides in the work bathroom and trying to figure out what the baby in my belly wanted me to feel for the rest of my day.

I instinctively placed my right hand on my belly and I saw his eyes catch the movement. His jaw dropped and his eyes seemed to widen even further. ‘Are you…pregnant?’ and, before I could even answer, he snapped his fingers, ‘Yes, I knew it…you had that glow going. Wise men, we know these things…I saw you and I knew there was something about you…Lordy, you have that glow!’

I smiled at him because this stranger really did make me feel great. I was unsure if the ‘glow’ he kept mentioning was from the blood rushing to my face as I heaved up my stomach contents less than five minutes before this encounter OR if it was the pregnancy glow I had heard so much about before.

He asked me if he had made my day. The only answer I could give was a smiling yes.

And with that, the stranger in the corridor took off.

22 Weeks, 5 days; February 19, 2015

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It’s been a weird week. Nobody talks about all the ‘other’ stuff, ya know, the stuff I am experiencing this week. Belly distended all kind of ways, general GI issues…and I am missing my hunger cues. But I am not going to complain. I feel blessed to feel you moving each time you decide to share that you are awake and in my belly. I thought eating broccoli would help my belly but, oh no, it did not. Instead, I got quite familiar with the bathroom at work.

In other news, I had my final hurrah in Las Vegas! A babymoon of sorts. The International Rugby Sevens took place over Valentine’s Day weekend and I drove down to attend the festivities. Plan: Hanye on Friday night, Saturday rugby games, Sauti Sol concert, Sunday buffet time!. It was pretty cool to catch up with other Kenyans (crews from Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Bay Area, Dallas) and I got to show my itty bitty bump. Loved the Continue reading →