Composer mum-to-be
27 October '16Today marks the official beginning of the Third Trimester of my first pregnancy (optimistically looking forward to doing this all over again someday). We have 12 weeks left to sleep, get as much composing done as possible, and finish renovating our home...
Composer. Mother. Professor. Wife.
Everyday I'm reading something new about what's ahead for my husband and I, and trying to mentally prepare myself for the change. So much has already changed though, for instance I haven't had an alchoholic beverage or caffinated drink since the end of April (when we found out about Heger Junior, while I was at my Copland House residency of all places). It's not as bad as you think, and very much worth abstaining from.
For now though, while this little guy gets in his daily quota of kicks, turns, and hiccups (the most adorable thing to feel!), I'm trying to complete four different pieces of music; It's a marathon race to have them done before he arrives in January.
So, am I concerned about how little time I'm going to have to write music once he arrives? Of course. But in my mind I've devoted 15 years of my life to composing (often resulting in heartbreak, loneliness, hours and days of stress, among other things... so I've paid more than my dues there) but now it's time to be a mum, and I'm very ready for the new challenge. And I really, really, really can't wait to see what the genetic combination of my husband and I will look like! I know he's going to be super cute. Besides, I'm already having so much fun playing piano for him (he loves Beethoven - all those low octaves and stormy passages), singing to him, and talking about anything I feel like... what's it going to be like when he's an actual little human staring back up at us?
This semester I was also thrown back into the classroom after two semesters of teaching my courses online. I can confidently say that teaching is easier in the classroom (the direct contact makes communicating unavoidable for those more timid or negligent ones, and therefore less frustrating for me), though teaching with an extending belly is something new - my first class I didn't know my limits and nearly passed out after a particularly enthusiastic topic presentation. But now I know.
Back on the home-front, I never anticipated feeling so concerned for my husband's inability to have the same contact that I'm having with our growing son. Quite often I feel so guilty that I get so much time with him and Grant doesn't. One of our more recent solutions is that we read a few chatpers of The Hitchhiker's Guide ot the Galaxy before going to bed each night, and I make sure my rounded tummy is pointed as directly towards Grant as possible while he reads to us. It's quite alot of fun, espcially when this little guy starts reacting and rolling about... most probably from our laughing or the ridiculous pronounciations we're forced to produce every second page...the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal!