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These are the kind of women I come from and am surrounded by.
First.
My husband told me about a spill his cave girlfriend took in a cave the other day. He said it looked really bad and he was amazed at the time that she wasn’t much more hurt. But she pushed on through the cave for another couple of hours, until they’d seen what they’d planned to see and climbed back out. It was when they got above ground and she didn’t have walls to brace against that he realized how difficult it was for her to walk and how much pain she must actually have been in all that time. She never once complained. He was properly awed. His comment was, “I guess it’s something about you birth-giving people.” (I’m married to one of the few men for whom it is not completely foolish to have hope. —thank you Suzette Hayden-Elgin for that description)
Second
My sister-in-law. She and my brother had been trying to have one more baby. She got pregnant and was looking forward to making the announcement at Christmas. They told her and my parents at Thanksgiving but swore them to secrecy. Then, a week or two after Thanksgiving she woke up spotting. She called her doctor who said to come in immediately. Since my brother was out of town she had to take both of my nieces (four and two) with her. When she got there, either she or Princess had to go to the bathroom, so they were all three in that little room when she began to gush blood down her leg. Of course Princess sees blood and begins to start screaming, “Mommy, Mommy what’s wrong? What’s wrong!” which makes screaming baby start doing what she does best. So there she is, in a strange bathroom, losing a planned and wanted baby, and keeping it all together so she can comfort Princess and get everyone calmed down a little before someone comes to see who’s being murdered. And when we’re all together the 21st for Christmas, she managed to only pause a few seconds before managing to go on, “when I gave up caffeine . . . a few months ago.” That girl had my utter awe.
First.
My husband told me about a spill his cave girlfriend took in a cave the other day. He said it looked really bad and he was amazed at the time that she wasn’t much more hurt. But she pushed on through the cave for another couple of hours, until they’d seen what they’d planned to see and climbed back out. It was when they got above ground and she didn’t have walls to brace against that he realized how difficult it was for her to walk and how much pain she must actually have been in all that time. She never once complained. He was properly awed. His comment was, “I guess it’s something about you birth-giving people.” (I’m married to one of the few men for whom it is not completely foolish to have hope. —thank you Suzette Hayden-Elgin for that description)
Second
My sister-in-law. She and my brother had been trying to have one more baby. She got pregnant and was looking forward to making the announcement at Christmas. They told her and my parents at Thanksgiving but swore them to secrecy. Then, a week or two after Thanksgiving she woke up spotting. She called her doctor who said to come in immediately. Since my brother was out of town she had to take both of my nieces (four and two) with her. When she got there, either she or Princess had to go to the bathroom, so they were all three in that little room when she began to gush blood down her leg. Of course Princess sees blood and begins to start screaming, “Mommy, Mommy what’s wrong? What’s wrong!” which makes screaming baby start doing what she does best. So there she is, in a strange bathroom, losing a planned and wanted baby, and keeping it all together so she can comfort Princess and get everyone calmed down a little before someone comes to see who’s being murdered. And when we’re all together the 21st for Christmas, she managed to only pause a few seconds before managing to go on, “when I gave up caffeine . . . a few months ago.” That girl had my utter awe.