The Rose Garden

Before I start this post, I just have to remark on the belly growth in last 4 months. It's really obvious when I'm wearing the same shirt. Below are pics at 24 weeks and at 39 weeks. Wow! I am really stretching the limits of that poor shirt!

Now, onto the post...

On Saturday, Andy and I headed over to Berkeley to visit friends and take a stroll down memory lane at our wedding site, the Berkeley Rose Garden. What a difference three years makes! There was another couple there setting up for a wedding and we warned them what might be in their horizon. :)  

Honestly it was just lovely remembering what a fantastic time we had getting married in that very special place surrounded by our community. Our visit felt as though we were paying homage to a sacred place, showing the roses how well we've done in the three years since they blessed our union.

While we were there, we talked a bit about child birth and the techniques I am going to use to relax through the pain. One common idea is to imagine one's cervix opening like a flower. Andy made the excellent suggestion that I try to visualize one of the flowers in the Rose Garden during labor. We explored the garden looking for rose inspiration. These two roses struck me as beautiful images that might bring me comfort on labor day. These roses surrounded us on the most important day of our relationship; here's to hoping they infuse us with good feelings on the next one.