I think what struck me most about the first chapter was how powerful the ideas of reproduction and fertility are in the psyche of many women. The pregnancy tests at home are really quite revolutionary — they have opened up an avenue of knowledge (and therefore power) about what is most fundamental, and most extraordinary, about biology. But it is that 3-5 minutes of waiting for the second line to show or not, and the incredibly strong feelings that hang in that small cradle of space and time, that are indelible, unforgettabe, and ultimately so very personal.

What I think I’m going to really enjoy about this book is that it promises to discuss the science (for me, a nurse, riveting) along side with what science does not adequately address — perseverance, faith, community — all the qualitative ‘gut’ stuff that shape life.

As for journey — it is fun to hear where everyone is. I, mother of 2 and almost 3 girls (12 days late and counting, and yes, I do find humor in this — thinking that I knew what to expect! How truly ridiculous!) I can’t help but think of the Serenity Prayer, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” And how it really comes down to that wisdom piece, which takes so much trial and error to figure out — and for me, right now, almost 42 weeks gestation, and really for long before the transformation of motherhood, that wisdom (and often lack thereof) really has revolved around knowing one’s energy, one’s potential and one’s limits at any given time. Because given limitless energy, very little is impossible. But energy is highly limited. How best to deploy one’s energy in the world is critical to do wisely. For me, it is this ‘wisdom’ that determines both the impact in one’s personal journey and how that journey intersects with the world.

I guess right now my journey is raising my children with my wonderful husband and learning self-sufficiency and the “old” ways. I’m thrilled with wool and poop (animal, that is) and vegetables and seed catalogs and the smell of hay and I could go on and on.

How did I get on this path? I’m not sure. Where am I going? I’m not sure. But I am sure of something – this is the path I’m meant to take. I am on the right one. I can feel it in my heart.

I can’t wait to read the book!

What journey am I on right now that is profoundly changing me?

Raising our children
Supporting my spouse’s work
Becoming a digital citizen

Each of these things keeps on challenging me to reach farther, and I’m grateful to be on these roads.

My first response to this book has been amazement. In spite of my stint in the public-school sex-ed stream, as well as my own homeschool curriculum development on the subject, I had no idea of the sorts of things that went on in my womb! “Wow!” I said a million times in this first chapter. She’s like a Ms. Frizzle for adults, and our Magic School Bus ride takes us into her intimate thoughts as well as her intimate geography. Wonderful.

However, I did find it a bit less beautiful than I found “Living Downstream.” I’m not quite sure why, but I don’t find myself awed by the prose as I was in her first book.

Still, I’m excited to go on, and to do it together.