3 great things this week

1. I finished a great book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. I couldn't put it down. It technically is classified as young adult fiction, but really the only thing that puts it in that category for me is the fact that it is about a high school student who is a cartoonist, so there are sketches every 25 pages or so in the book. Very well written... shocking, because I believe it is the closest I've ever been to the inside of a 9th grade boy's brain and that is a scary thing. Still it made me think deeply about life, racism, stereotypes, hope and friendship. I'd suggest it to anyone who cares about teens and is willing to be honest about the things teens deal with.

2. Watched the movie "Hairspray"... in 4 segments, unfortunately, but it still brought me to tears. Yes, a musical about the 60's brought me to tears. I loved it. I hadn't seen it and didn't really know anything about it... and I had no idea it had such a great cast. John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifa... they were all great. You definitely have to enjoy that type of film (music, dancing, etc), but if you can get past that hurdle, it was a fun 2 hours.

3. And most importantly... I saw a baby be born. Yep... Merrell, our housemate from our old house gave birth, at the house last night. She had invited Kate and I to be there with her, Jay and the midwives during the process. We were there for the last couple hours of active labor and the final hour before little Isaiah Cacka came into the world. It was an amazing thing to witness... Merrell's strength, Jay's steadfastness, the midwives' patience. I was awe struck. I've now had the privilege of participating/watching a birth in both a hospital setting and at home. I can't say what I'd like to do myself if I was in that situation, but it will be an interesting discussion when we get there.

Lance and Mike would probably have been in the room if they could have... but instead they settled for sitting in our old bedroom directly below where the birth was happening--listening and searching for birth videos on the Internet. I believe Merrell was a bit embarrassed when she learned that is where they were all night, but I think she has forgiven them. The amazing wrap up to this story is that Isaiah came into the world at 11:35 last night and we still had our scheduled "house" brunch at 10 am this morning, in Jay and Merrell's apartment. We had quite the spread... chocolate filled croissants, a farmhouse scramble, grapefruits (perfectly sectioned by lance), bran muffins and coffee. It was a feast... and Merrell joined us. What a delight our new friendships in this house have been--and even after we've been in our own place for a week and a half now. My heart is thankful for these people.