Guess What?

We're expecting. 

I'm not sure why we were so compelled to keep the news to ourselves for so long. Nothing seemed wrong or felt wrong. This is our first pregnancy, so it's not like we have a history of first trimester troubles. I guess like most other things with us, it just came down to procrastination.

If Carl was nervous or anxious about sharing the news with family and friends, he didn't say anything to me. And depending on how my day was going, I wavered between happy (there's something very special about sharing a secret like that with just your significant other) and lonely (there were - and still are - days when I felt I had no one to share this immense joy with).

We had our first appointment Sept. 22, the day before Carl's 32nd birthday, and got to hear the heartbeat. The doctor confirmed that we were 12 weeks along (14 now) and gave us an EDD of April 7. My youngest sister is the only April baby in the family, so she was relieved that April 12 wasn't mentioned (though she's aware that there are no guarantees).

So there it is. Our big news. :) I have so much stuff to update with - heartbeat sounds, clothes shopping, telling the parents - I just need to find a minute to right it all down. But for now, I have to visit the restroom for the the 20th time today...

Book Review: On the Road

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
(Last revisited in August, 2004)

On the Road has shown me many sides of America that I’ve never seen. More to the point, however, it makes me want to see it for myself. The flustered, hurried, constant pace of Kerouac’s epic expresses even better than his words how “Beats” lived, lived, lived. The way this novel was written also adds to the can’t-stop-gotta-move-don’t-want-to-miss-anything itch — it was typed on 35 m of paper in a 21-day marathon — all at once, so Kerouac didn’t have time to forget details or leave things out.

My favorite line comes nearly 100 pages into the story, when Sal leaves Terry, his Spanish senorita. She gives him a kiss, then “We turned at a dozen paces, for love is a duel, and looked at each other for the last time.” It’s such a simple sentence, but it so perfectly, so eloquently describes one of the most complex human emotions.

The “scroll,” as the first draft of On the Road is often called, was bought (for $3.1 million) by Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, but has spent a lot of time on display for the general public. Irsay has sent it back on the road from which it came. The 13-stop, four-year tour ended in 2007 at the New York public library, and I'm very sorry to report I wasn't there to see it.



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