My Push Present Awaits!

When I was pregnant, I made sure that Pete knew about the "push present." If others are also in the dark on this, it is the gift given to a mother at the birth of the child. I don't care for the name so much. Any woman who becomes a mother whether by pushing, having a c-section or adoption deserves a present in my book! I also don't like the memory it evokes of my own 4 hour endurance test to push sweet Jude into this world.

When the due date was approaching, Pete started to ask what I might like for a gift. Now, this was at the same time that we were starting to think through the logistics of an international move. As we took stock of all of our possessions to decide what to bring/store/sell/donate, we both agreed that we should never buy anything every again (of course we haven't stuck to this...)! So I decided that what I would really like was a trip to Paris when we were in Europe. You can book tickets on the high speed train 3 months in advance for just 35 euro one way. Travel time is just 3 hours! So we picked a weekend in November and made the reservations. We will be leaving Friday afternoon for the City of Lights!

This will not be our first trip to Paris. Pete and I went for a long weekend 9 years ago while I was living in Germany the summer after college. We bought museum cards and mad dashed our way across the city to see all of the sights. Yes, I'd love to see the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, The Rodin museum and Saint Chapelle again, but I look forward to the travel pace that having a baby necessitates. We hope to see some sights, eat great food and walk hand in hand through the city streets.

Pete and I summer 2005