Blessing of the Hands

I know I’m jumping ahead here, but I had to break the order so I could post something very special. It’s Michael and I’s third wedding anniversary today (6.28.10)!!!   I’m so in love, sickeningly so! I’ve been thinking back on our wedding day, our vows and specifically The Blessing of the Hands we received that day.  These words have such a deeper meaning now that we have grown in love and in number (can’t forget Jude!) I wanted to share them with you.

Blessing of the Hands

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.

These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy. These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children. These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

I love you, Michael and I love being on this journey with you!

NYC

We had a great time exploring Brooklyn and visiting my friend Rochelle during our trip to NYC.  We toured Brooklyn Hospital (one of the possible clinical sites) and just soaked up the atmosphere.  The area surrounding the hospital reminds me of the Uptown neighborhood in Chicago: very diverse, cheap clothes on sidewalk sales, food carts on every corner, brick buildings, etc. Although, when I left Chicago in 2008, Uptown was undergoing intense gentrification. I’d be interested to see it now.

Brooklyn

 

Uptown Chicago: Broadway Avenue

 

This is the neighborhood I worked in for 9 years. I worked 9-5 at a doctors office, then went to night school from 6-9pm. This was my El station and the train I would take home.  Hot Popeyes biscuits on a cold winters day were the best things ever!

I ran into some of the most colorful people anywhere. Some of the things you see and hear on the El at 10pm will blow your mind (let alone the things you see and hear coming home at 3am on the weekends!)  

 

Back on topic: Michael’s sister had just moved to Manhattan to attend law school. She was temporarily living with some Julliard students in a roommate situation she set up on Craig’s List.  It was our first time to see a tiny Manhattan apartment! Here’s the living room of this 3-bedroom.  Someone was crashing on the floor as well.  Her apartment in D.C. was really cute, stylish and clean. Sometimes you have to give up a little to get what you want…and finding out she was accepted to school, she dropped everything and just went for it.  So, we had to document this because it’s one of those things we’ll look back on and laugh.

 Here’s her bedroom.

She’s since moved into her own place and is enjoying life in the city.

 Having caught up with friends and family, Michael and I decided to play tourists. We were on a mission to pack in as much as possible during out trip.

We visited Central Park…

 

 

 

 

the Guggenheim (it was free day and the line stretched for blocks)…

 the Met…

MOMA…

Staten Island…

the Bronx Zoo…

street fairs…

HAIR on Broadway…

and more! Here are some random shots around town.

 

It was my goal to take pictures on top of the Empire State Building at Sunset, but I found that I needed a nap every day around 5pm. With all the random snacking and feeling so run down, we started to wonder…sooo I took a test!  This photo was taken moments later. Michael’s face says it all!

 That’s right: we just found out we were going to have a baby (hence my taking 8 months to update my blog)!

They say there’s never a “good” time to have a baby, and it certainly was tricky to plan with a husband in medical school. With clincals rapidly approaching, we didn’t know where we’d be in 6 months or even a year.  We only knew that we wanted to start a family and hoped to have him between basic sciences and clincals. We were so excited to discover we’d be doing just that!

Here we are on our way to JFK. It still hadn’t quite sunk in, but it certainly has now!

Jude Matthew: 11 weeks old (photograph taken 6.26.10)