I once heard novelist Zadie Smith describe the several psychological stages an author goes through while writing a novel. Based on my own experience, she was right on about all of them–the self-consciousness bordering on self-hatred when things aren’t going well, and that experience when things are where everything you see, read, or hear, seems…
The Liminal Stage
New Year, New You
I feel like I’ve read (or written) that coverline on a magazine a million times. But it’s true, the dawning of a new year is a milestone that makes us, or at least me, consider what I was doing this time last year, and what, if anything, has changed over the past 12 months. The…
Striking a Cord
Two days after giving birth, when we arrived back at our house and I burst into tears overwhelmed by the enormity of how my life had just changed, and how I was now responsible for a little being who depended on me for her survival and whom I was still learning to feed, hold, and…
Say Yes to the Breast!
I never thought I’d be so obsessed with anyone’s pooping schedule, including my own. But now that I have a new full-time job–dairy maid–basically all I do is breastfeed and write down how often Amalía poops or pees. In between I do manage to fit in the occasional writing of an article and attending of…
Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and Other Acts of God and Man
There’s a Yiddish saying that when man plans, God laughs. Apparently, when I plan, the laughter comes from my infant daughter Amalía, who was due to arrive in this world on August 19th, if not before, my doctors said, judging from her size. When I heard that, I began making plans. And it wasn’t just…
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Of Holy Mothers and Floating Babies–or Waitin’, Wishin’, and a Hopin’
We’re officially on Amalía Watch 2011. I guess since she’s only going to be born once, it’s Amalía Watch, period, but I like the way Amalía Watch 2011 makes it sound that much more official, like an election or a hurricane. At 35 weeks, one of my doctors told me that given Amalía’s size, she…
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