I attribute this inspiration to C. and L. Lol…I wonder if this phase will last.
So, many things have changed in my life in the past 5 months: I graduated from college, discovered there are things about Steubenville to miss, got married, got pregnant, moved to a completely new state 2 hours further from my family than Steubenville was, made a new group of friends, finally get to go to the Tridentine Mass every Sunday, tried to find a job, have not got one yet (though this is still developing).
My mom was worried about the possibility of me getting pregnant “right away” (we all knew that I would). She said all of the changes would cause stress that would affect the baby. Maybe that is why it is good that I do not have a job, even though it would be a great help for M. and I on the financial level. We don’t really want to have to depend on Emperor Obama for sustenance over the next four years. I think after I got over the fact that M. is okay with me reading novels all day, making creative dinners, baking for him, me, and the baby every week, keeping the apartment clean, and making new friends while he worked in a factory for six weeks and now spends the whole day with Lady Philosophy and her friends Greek and German, I realized that life in Buftalo is quite enjoyable! The stress is still there on different levels, but God’s grace and blessings are greater than any stress I have had.
Back to my mom (sorry Mom), she was worried about the financial situation of the young newly married couple attempting to survive grad school and be “open to life". It turns out that most of the young married couples we have become friends with here are in basically the same situation, except the wives have to work as well to meet the basic needs. I see the way I am blessed all the time. I think this situation is that of the young, married, Catholics who will not contracept for five years before having children. And honestly how many of our parents were entirely financially stable when they got married and started having kids? I love you Mom!
I am constantly reminded of how not only did I marry M., but I also married “Lady Poverty.” I guess Lady Poverty and Lady Philosophy are sisters or something. I will only buy meat when it is on sale for 1.99/lb and then I buy it in bulk and freeze it. I’ve made beans are rice. Aldi is my new favorite place to shop and I supplement it with the amazing Wegmans. Besides the technicality of buying things it really has not been that hard to live this way, maybe I adapted to it in Steubenville. Basically the lifestyle M. and I have chosen does not require a lot of extra expenses. Maybe this blog will be an examination of the way we are living and the ideas of an expecting mother.
Confessions of a Catholic Mom and Philosopher's Wife
Your page looks great! And this is a nice starting post - you've begun to realize your reason for blogging, and new readers can get a sense of where you're at. I look forward to reading more! *hugs!* :)
ReplyDelete1) "...finally get to go to the Tridentine Mass every Sunday"
ReplyDeleteIt is so great to read you saying that. You are such a great inspiration to me. Look at how ...womanly, motherly, etc. you've become since I've met you! It's fantastic! Aside from my mother, there is hardly another woman in the world whom I would rather point to and to say: look! the struggle for Christian femininity lights up the whole world; look at how much hope the world receive from even one woman who wants to be a holy woman of God! I am extremely confident in your and Mark's ability to raise a Christian child in docility to the grace of the sacraments. The Lord will do great things in you. He will do great things in your family!
2) Yes. We all did know that you would get pregnant on your wedding night. My mother was shocked and scandalized about how openly we talked about all of it. She said that she wouldn't want anyone talking about her fertility! Yes. But we all "knew" because we hoped. I met someone at school who said she lived with you for awhile. She told me that you had sometimes spoken as if you were worried about getting pregnant immediately. When I think of a new couple sacrificing the potential joys of 'being-alone-with-eachother' to instantly bear life, I realize how great a sacrifice it is, but how worthy a sacrifice it is! I, of course, hoped you would be with child immediately, and I was so glad that you were. I remember when Mark asked me my thoughts on waiting to have children, and I told my thoughts to him. Maybe my thoughts are less blunt now; maybe they're more nuanced. I still have them! They are that to sacrifice the visions that -- at least -- I have of fulfillment that come from being "married" apart from being "parents" for the sake of openness to life is to raise a beacon of hope to the world. It is a type of generosity that, when united to the Cross, bears the fruits of salvation and eternal life. Thank you.
3) That's how I buy meat! Cheaply, in bulk, with the intention of freezing it!