Any Day Now...

Bilguins of Montana

"I don't think I'll be a good mother," Alison Aiken informed me this morning.

Really!?! And why is that?

"Because," she said. "I don't think this baby is ever going to be born!"

She is right, of course, that the kid is about six days past its projected due date -- an arbitrary date set months in advance that doesn't really mean anything. She's wrong about it never coming; that kid will be here within two weeks. And something tells me she'll be rewriting the book on what good mothering looks like!

Meanwhile, as we play this waiting game, we have gotten great support from family and friends from all over. Take the above photo of three bilguins, expressing their support from Montana. Bilguins, as many biologists will tell you, are a cross between the Antarctic penguin and the Australian marsupial, the bilby. Although migratory patterns take them to all corners of the globe, their largest concentrations in North America are the northwestern corner of Montana, some urban centers along the east coast, and, most recently, New England.

Bilguins survive on fish, M&M's, both of which they enjoy washing down with beer.

You know you're in Vermont when...

Conspiracy Theory

I'm starting to think this whole thing has been a ruse. That's right: a trick to get me to do the cat litter.

The backstory: I made no secret when I married Alison that I was a dog person. Yet when the cat of one of her patients had kittens, I was a good sport when Ali showed up with Waffle -- a cute orange kitten. I said just two things:

     1) when it stops being cute, I might trade it (the            kitten) in.
     And 2) I'm not changing the litter box.

I didn't make good on either promise: at 12 pounds, Waffle is still with us. And -- from time to time -- I changed the cat litter. But make no mistake; for the most part, the litter box has been Ali's responsibility.

Fast forward to this past June. There we are, sitting in the midwife's office telling them we're preggers. Before uttering "congratulations" or "that's wonderful," all eyes turned on me. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world, they said: "A pregnant mother can not change cat litter."

Apparently, there's something in cat litter that's poison to a developing fetus (duh, don't you know?). Again, they all looked at me, nodding in agreement. "Mark," they said (still nodding), "that litter box is all you."

How do you argue with that?

So, yes, it has been nine amazing months of watching Alison grow this new member of the human race...

... and nine months of scooping that box out after the cat.

Champion

We're in the final stretch. The room is ready, and I'm thinking we're up to the challenge. There's only one thing...

Ali mentioned that she had hoped she would be one of those pregnant women who "glowed" throughout her pregnancy.

This morning we met with our birth caregiver. After a brief chat, they put Ali on the table to take her blood pressure and then listen to the kid's heartbeat. As she lay there with her red hair shining, looking exactly the same as she always does, except for a round 8-month bulge where her belly usually is, it hit me: she is glowing.

Nearly 8 months down, and just one to go. And she has been, simply, a complete champion.

Ski Buddy Turns Six

Oscar our yellow lab turned six years-old yesterday. You might not think a dog's birthday is a blog-worthy event, but I beg to differ: the anniversary is noteworthy for three reasons.

1) I -- not Oscar -- personally received several birthday tidings yesterday both on-line and in person -- unusual, considering my birthday is in March. Why were well-wishers seeking me out on Oscar's birthday, you ask? The answer: Facebook. Oscar has had his own Facebook account for several years now -- with over 100 friends. Yes, my lab! But I recently took the account over. A social media neophyte, I never updated the profile. Therefore, everyone thinks my birthday is November 26th, that I'm single, and that, for my education, I attended April Frost's Holistic Center for Animals and People (Think Like a Dog Levels 1 and 2). Eventually, I'll learn to change the profile. For now, however, I'm expecting the same birthday greetings in 5 months!

2) Oscar's birthday is the anniversary of my acceptance of the "C-word." No -- the other C-word; get your mind out of the gutter! I'm referring, of course, to "commitment" and I was certainly a commit-a-phobe. But while I thought moving in with Alison was a big commitment, onlookers didn't make a big stink until we got a dog. "Whoa, this is serious!" they said. I was already serious, but I guess it took getting a dog together to show this to the world.

3) Not that I was (or am) too concerned with what the world thinks. In fact, I don't even celebrate Oscar's birthday in November. We got him when he was four months old -- in late March. For me, his birthday (like mine) is in March. Good boy, Oscar... I'll get you a chew toy once you've been living here for 6 years. Until then... happy birthday buddy!

Let Them Stand

One positive factor affecting the quality of life in Burlington, Vemont is music. As in lots of great music talent stops in Burlington.

The problem is that sometimes you have periods like the one we're currently in: there are simply too many acts coming through for me to see them all. Take, for example, October 2nd. We had Ben Harper at the Flynn and Los Lonely Boys at Spruce Peak Performing Arts. Hello people... can we not coordinate our efforts? I can only be in one place at a time!

Then this week, we have Brandi Carlile at the Flynn, two Yonder Mountain String Band shows at Higher Ground, and a new kid named Eric Hutchinson at the small room at Higher Ground. Not to mention the Vermont singer/songwriter contest held at various clubs, and the Richmond Bakery's own Bluegrass Night. Can we not spread these out a bit?

The two shows I did manage were Brandi and Ben -- both at the Flynn. First, a brief word about these two performers. Don't confuse Brandi Carlile with Belinda Carlisle, the heavily necklaced and braceletted (that is, "wearer of many bracelets") lead singer of former 80s band the Bangles -- oh no. Brandi is up-and-coming, and she's the real deal -- fun, funny, gritty, and, trust me, the chick rocks. Buy her records. Ben Harper, of course, is simply one of the all-time greats. I've seen him 5 or so times, and each time has been significantly different (all of them awesome) -- especially this latest solo acoustic show. He brought onstage no fewer than 16 guitars (actually some of them weren't guitars; rather they were stringed instruments with names unknown to me and with outrageously wild sounds), a piano, and a xylophone.  He sang, told stories, laughed, and mesmorized the audience for over 3 hours without a break. Quality.

But I have a gripe. (That's the thing about having a blog... I get to air my gripes. Nothing anyone can do about it!) The gripe is with the Flynn people. You're hosting rock-n-roll acts. So what's with the "No Standing" rule? Audiences at the Flynn (excepting Ben's) are confused, uncomfortable, and restless because of this dumb rule. If you're bringing in a foot-stomping, body-wiggling, arm-waving act, then -- for crying out loud -- let the people dance! We're not going to stand on your new chairs!

I only go to the Flynn when it's an act I have to see -- because of this rule. After all, the room and acoustics are amazing, and it's just a great place to see a show. But if the music's rocking, then so should be the audience. Don't try to stop it.

Photos (top): Brandi unplugged at the Flynn. (Bottom): Ben's guitars

Pregnant Woman Wins Marathon

This blog Post should probably be titled "Race Report: Zagreb Marathon." So I offer my apologies if the title ("Pregger Wins") is slightly deceiving, but it did get your attention, didn't it? Alison Aiken is, in fact, four-and-a-half months pregnant. And, okay, I admit that she didn't actually run the full marathon -- that part may have been inaccurate (she ran the half). And while she didn't "win," she did run it in an amazing 2 hours 10 minutes. So as far as I'm concerned, it was a highly impressive display -- and, on second thought, I therefore revoke my apology! She really made everyone proud -- especially me... and little J.K. (or whatever the kid's name ends up being), who I'm sure will grow up to be proud its mom ran 13.1 miles at an international race event when it was just a 16-ounce extra-terrestrial-looking thing in her belly.

As far as the full marathon went, I was shooting for a PR... but came up a bit short. Maybe it was the miles of walking to see all the sights in Zagreb and Vienna each of the three days leading up to the event. Or maybe I missed out on some training as I worked out an intense tendonitis (left shin) for the last four weeks. Either way, I ran a 3:16 (or so) -- the result of 5 bad miles as we ran against the wind. Each of the other 21 miles I ran at a 7:11 pace or less.

A sort of mile-by-mile report, the Race Start was in a square in the middle of beautiful Zagreb. Miles 0-10 were a very boring out-and-back. 10 to 13 were another out-and-back in the middle of the city -- a little more interesting. At that point, the 900 half-marathoners finished, and the "full-ers" did the exact same thing again. At Mile 15 I peed in a park. At mile 19 we turned to head back into town and I bonked. 8:15, 8:30: 8:45, 9:00, 8:30 in miles 19-24. Knowing my PR was out of reach, I did find some motivation: my friend Kristen Courcelle ran a 3:14 at Hampton last week. I ran a 7:23 in Mile 25 trying to catch her, but came up short. I'll get you next time, Kristen!

All in all, a great race. Several Croat spectators gave me a good "Go USA" cheer (see my USA singlet in photo) to which I always responded "Thank you Croatia!" We had amazing support on the course -- our hosts David and Diane Bahrenburg biked all over the course carrying post-race shirts and water for us. And they were simply amazing hosts and tour guides -- we had a fabulous time. For anyone thinking about building an international marathon into their next vacation, take my advice: do it.