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…
Orthodox Christianity
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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Swing High, Fiery Chariot
I hate to miss a good party. Tonight, in Greece, is the eve of the festival of the Prophet Elias, the patron saint of our village, Lia. There will be roast lambs and goats on spits, there will be pitas made by local ladies, there will be clarinets wailing and villagers dancing and various and…
The Sacred and the Profane–Holy Weeks I Have Known
This Palm Sunday, Holy week started off with a bang. Actually it was a kick, more of a kickline, from the party-girl-in-utero. We had gone to church to observe the holiday and the choir was singing a hymn for the Blessing of the Palms service. This apparently inspired a frenetic, religious dance from the little…
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I Come in Peace–or How I Learned to Stop Fearing Palm Sunday
Many parts of Lent are solemn, and some are downright sad; I once saw a woman crying so much during a Good Friday service on the island of Corfu that I whispered to my mother, “You should tell her it has a happy ending.” Because that’s the whole point of Easter, right? The Resurrection, the…
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Love and Lent in Pittsburgh
So, I promised you that every post would not be about pregnancy. But I did not promise that every blog would not be about pregnancy’s greatest pleasure–food. (Trust me, when booze, caffeine, effective wrinkle cream, traveling to high altitudes, and various and sundry sports including windsurfing and horseback riding are off the menu for nine…