Delivery

Over the past few weeks Katie and I have gone through the delivery of a child process - while we haven't yet talked about it, for fear of emotional conquest - I bet we've learned quite a lot about process. Sitting here with her and our beautiful daughter at 3am while Katie breast feeds, the animals scurry and sleep, and I beam with joy, I ask Katie for some topics so that we can track where we've been, in hope of returning to the scene of life changing events.

What points over the past two weeks do we not want to forget?
1) The comforting that we gave to one another.
2) Hearing Mike sing
3) Learning something new together - how to take care of a child
4) Birthing room emotional ups and downs: arrive early, too early, stagnation, "alternative delivery methods..." (of which there is only one) perhaps through the belly button? The tension, the pain of my wife going through, the telling of the parents, looking at my wife the entire time - I can't remember a time I was more focused.
5) The first night home and how much we were looking forward to it - and the subsequent reality.
6) Learning to breastfeed.
7) the few minutes on the couch when we could just be together like old times.

We'll come back to these things... but for now, we're learning about and loving fully Maeve Maryleigh Kalisz Schuler - born 8.24.09, at 8:10 pm, weighing in at 8.12 pounds.

Invitation

The picture is from my students who discovered the process of making airplanes. Everyone started with the same directions, but they all chose a different process (sloppy or perfect design, for instance) -- some airplanes soared, others flopped.

We would love to hear from you -- if you have a story, or insight about PROCESS - then we invite you to share it here.

In our mind, process is about making a choice to do things a little differently in expectation that the results will differ had you just done whatever you wanted to do. When you think about the elements or consequence of the decision -- that's a process. Thinking through your choices -- that's a process.

We've wrestled with definition for a few years... it works better to just start telling your story -- a story about when you had to make a choice, and the types of ideas that went through your mind as you were making the choice. That's a process!!

Sable

our dog has gone through the aging process well.

Process Continues

Our process now is more about application than theory. We've been sticking with our rogue process through life transitions: pregnancy, job, balance of responsibilities. We've noticed the differences in how we talk about our options of child care, diapers, time with child. None of these conversations are new to couples.

What is strange for us is the equality or common ground that we continually strike.

We notice a lot of couch time, sitting and talking about anxieties, aspirations, and how we might adapt more adequately.