Olympians to Watch-Shawn Johnson USA

Shawn Johnson
Gymnastics
United States
Age:16

At 16, she is perhaps the best gymnast in the world — a compact, powerful package who is just as at home on the beam and bars as she is in the vault and floor events. "She doesn't know how good she is," says former Olympian Shannon Miller. Shawn Johnson has an easy smile and confidence and rarely betrays the nervousness she says she feels at every competition. That anxiety gets expressed only through her poetry, which she scribbles in a journal that's always with her or which she texts on her cell phone. Through words, she reveals a Shawn not often seen by her competitors — one with a very human awareness of her limitations and a self-doubt about her emotional and physical strength that belies her age:

You remember the struggles and pain you had
When all the good had turned to bad
When behind the scenes you crumbled and prayed
For it all to simply just go away
But when the pressure builds and tears you apart
How are you able to not depart
How are you able to still carry a smile
When everything inside is in a pile

These lines, from a poem called Champion, were written during a stay at the national training center in March. "I feel like I have so much to say that I don't know where to start," she says of her creative urges. Much of the tension she describes is generated from within, from responsibilities she feels to her parents and coach, Liang Qiao (known as Chow), a Beijing native and former Chinese gymnastics champion. "I want to show everyone in their country their hard work through me," she says, referring to Chow's coaching skills. She will probably show her country too.

Olympians to Watch-Chen Yanqing CHINA

TANGLI VILLAGE, China -- As a child, Chen Yanqing was the fastest girl in this farming village. She often outran the boys. One day at a sporting match, a coach noticed her throwing skills and took out a tape measure. She was 11 years old, and the muscles in her arms and legs were extraordinary.So was the proposition her parents received: Release their daughter to the state, and she could go away to sports school and improve her future, with possible financial benefits for the entire family.

"It was rock hearted of us, but we had no choice," says her father, a farmer named Chen Zufu. "If we didn't send her away to sports school, she would have ended up a farmer." In rural China, that likely means an annual income of less than $2,000.

Chen Yanqing, now 29, went on to reach the heights of global competitive weightlifting. Her rise helps to explain why many think China may win the medal count in the Beijing Games -- unseating the U.S. from its spot as Summer Olympics medal king.

China is in a position to compete for the top spot because of its unique mix of central planning and poverty that drives an intense desire to get ahead. Almost all the 52 Chinese athletes who won gold medals in Athens in 2004, including Chen Yanqing, came from the nation's system of elite athletic boarding schools. The primary recruiting grounds for those schools is the poor countryside, where some 700 million of China's 1.3 billion citizens dream of joining the nation's economic renaissance.

As the world record holder in the snatch lift, Chen Yanqing is key to China's hopes when she competes on Monday. "A rich person would never let his child do this," says Mr. Chen, Yanqing's father.

These athletes lifted their nation to the No. 3 medal spot in Sydney in 2000, and to the No. 2 spot in Athens in 2004. This month, their undisguised intention is to finish on top.

Out of Poverty

Mr. Chen's decision to hand over Yanqing has borne fruit -- a gold medal in Athens, a 2006 world record that she still holds and the opportunity to win gold again as part of the first Chinese Olympic team to compete at home. Her success helped lift her entire family out of poverty, according to interviews with her parents, sister and coach. In her small village, on a remote island off of Suzhou, two hours west of Shanghai, she is a hero.

Nursery Pics

The view from the doorway






We call this the Bamboo Forest


Dresser/changing table/shelf

Closeup of shelf. We sure have collected a lot of things in the last three years! Some of them are very special to me, as I bought them when I was in China when Grace joined our family. Others are special because they came from some awesome secret buddies I have had over the last two years.

Old Barbie house that I painted and made into a toy/bookshelf. Still need to Decoupage some scrapbook paper to the top.





Bookshelf. This is holding only about a quarter of the books I have. You collect a lot of books when you teach preschool/work with kids for fifteen years!


Reading/snuggling corner. That chair is not comfortable at all. I hope to pick up a used glider that I can refurbish to put there instead.

Toys. Really need to stop buying these


This is the light that Joe and I agreed to keep on for Sophie. I am going to be making these for gifts. It is a bottle that is decorated with stickers and decoupaged shapes. A hole is drilled into the bottom and a string of Christmas lights is inside. I figure it is using less energy than the lamp Joe previously was leaving on


Art work I made and cute dragonfly we picked up in Capitola Beach this summer.

Shelf above the window and dolls. Must stop buying dolls :)


We still need to:
(Re)Assemble the crib
Buy an area rug. Something bright and cheerful, with a garden theme
Purchase or obtain a glider for the corner
Paint the walls. Possibly put up a border.
Purchase and hang some curtains. Hate those vertical plastic blinds.

I was so afraid that putting it all together would make me sad, especially given the fact that we have a good two more years to wait. Surprisingly, it makes me happy to go in there. That may not always be the case(like at Christmas time), and if that happens we'll just close the door. Some day there will be a child in that room, messing it up. Some day.

Olympians to Watch-Tyson Gay USA

Sprints
United States
Age: 25

Can track and field catch a break? Less than a week after clocking the fastest sprint in human history, Tyson Gay, 25, tumbled to the track at the U.S. trials in Eugene, Ore. Fearing the worst, the crowd gasped as Gay clutched his left hamstring, wincing in pain. But he had suffered just a mild strain. The defending world champion in the 100-m and 200-m sprints, Gay was trying to qualify for the 200-m race in Beijing. He's out of the 200-m, and we're left wondering, Will he be healthy enough for the 100-m?

Gay has said he'll be healed by the Olympics. "I've had conversations with the physicians, massage therapists — everyone," says former Olympic sprinter Jon Drummond, one of Gay's coaches. "Everything they've told me gives me confidence that he'll be O.K." At the trials, Gay broke the American record in the quarterfinals of the 100-m, finishing in 9.77 sec. He followed that with a historic final: a time of 9.68 sec., the fastest ever recorded, but unofficial because of a strong tailwind. Still, that run made Gay the man to beat in Beijing — before he strained that hammy. At least history offers some comfort. Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene pulled up lame in the 200-m at the 2000 trials. They both won Olympic gold in other races (Greene the 100-m, Johnson the 400-m).

Unlike many top sprinters, Gay is a shy, dry competitor who doesn't talk smack on the track. And he doesn't always eat right when he's off it. "He loves McDonald's," says Drummond. That's not exactly the diet of champions. "He's been eating McDonald's his whole life, and look at what he's done," says Drummond. "Who am I to say it's bad for him?" Gay is a freak. If he can run this fast on Big Macs, how can a tight leg slow him down?

I was finally able to wrestle the computer away from my husband for five minutes while he is in the shower. He is teaching five classes, so the computer has been attached to him every minute that he is awake. I can check e-mail and blogs from work, but can't really comment or post anything. Sharing a computer bites. We're lucky to have one computer, I know. I should stop whining now.
It's almost my bedtime and there really isn't a lot going on anyway, so I'll make this short and sweet. And with bullets. Everybody loves those, right? :)

--We are still enjoying the Olympics. I will be sad when they end this Sunday.

--My apartment is still in a state of chaos. It is causing tension between my husband and I. Why, oh why, does he feel the need to hang on to junk? I would be happy if I woke up tomorrow and it had all simply disappeared.

--You know how I was going to take down the nursery so we could make use of that room during this interminable wait?

Well while we were cleaning it out this weekend my husband somehow convinced me that perhaps instead of doing that and keeping everything in boxes where it would get dusty and no one would see them, how about we set up the room, just to see how it will look?


So now the entire nursery is set up, with shelves and art work and toys and everything. What the?


How do I let him he talk me into these things?

I did manage to talk him into disassembling the crib though, and I decided we are not going to reassemble it or paint the walls until we have our referral.

Now it is the cleanest room in the house, and it does looks awfully cute. I have pictures, which I will post the next time I get to use the computer.

--My Sees-ter is coming to visit this weekend. Yippee! (Hence the cleaning out of the baby's room)

--We're supposed to meet up with Kristen and Eva at Shelley's house on Friday, but their whole family has been under the weather this week, so send healing thoughts over there!

--My sister is sick of the same songs on my blog over and over, so she sent me a whole list of song suggestions, which I thought was nice but also a tiny bit controlling of her :)

--Again, too tired to do anything about it now. I'm going to bed. G'night!

Olympians to Watch-Guo Jingjing CHINA

Guo Jingjing
Sport: Diving
Team: China
Why You Should Care: commanding record, celebrity status China might win all eight diving golds this year, and Guo is the jewel in her team's crown. She's also China's highest paid female athlete. At 26, she's won four straight world titles in springboard, and suffered a detached retina from the impact of a dive. And her love life has made her a Chinese tabloid staple. She and diver boyfriend Tang Liang were known as "the diving prince and princess," and she was said to be "pining" when he married someone else. Now she's with "playboy" Kenneth Fok, but one Chinese blogger warns "Guo must be careful not to think about boys too much or she’ll crush China’s Olympic hopes." Guo sounds like she'd rather the press focused on her diving as well: “Whatever I say," she complains, "reporters don’t report it truthfully, so I might as well shut up.”

Olympians to Watch-Jeremy Wariner USA

Sprints
United States
Age: 24

White sprinter. It's a flat out contradiction in terms in recent Olympics, and one of the most intriguing track storylines of the Beijing games: Wariner, two-time world champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 400m, seems a bit vulnerable. Since breaking with long-time coach Clyde Hart earlier this year, Wariner has lost twice to fellow American LaShawn Merritt, on June 1 in Berlin and at the Olympic trials in early July. Prior to that slump, Wariner had lost only four times in 42 pro races. Wariner dismisses the talk that the coaching change has hurt him; he backed it up by clocking the year's best 400m time on July 18. "I'm still the favorite," he says. "When it comes to the Olympic Games, I've been there before and I know what it takes to win it."

Did you ever get up in the morning with the intention of cleaning/organizing/purging your house because you are having guests come and stay with you next weekend(me Sees-ter is coming next weekend-yay!), but halfway through you got tired and you looked around your house and realized you didn't feel like cleaning anymore and all you want to do is go lay on the couch but your house is now a total disaster? Yeah. Welcome to my world:

Somebody help me. Please.

Thank you to everyone who posted here or e-mailed me with advice/suggestions. I guess it really wasn't fair to say that my agency wasn't being helpful. They have tried to answer all of my questions. What they wouldn't do is give me a specific list of things that we will have to have under the new Hague rules. They want me to sign a contract with them first. To update our paperwork with them under the new Hague guidelines they charge $1,200.00. Does that seem exorbitant to anyone else(besides me?). Twelve. Hundred. Dollars. To re-do paperwork that we have already done once before. I'm sorry. That seems outrageous to me. That's why I was asking about changing agencies at this state in the game. I wanted to get started on some of the things that were needed, and then sign the contract and pay the fee when we were ready to turn everything in. Bu they say they need the money first, so they can help us obtain some of the necessary items. It makes no sense to me. After much discussion we have decided to wait. The way things are moving right now we have at least two more years to go, and I am NOT renewing again(if I can help it). Especially at $1200. That amount doesn't even include the $125 per person fingerprinting fees, plus the $750 dollars to file the paperwork with the gov't. We have a few issues we have to work out before we can renew anyway that will take a couple of months, so right now we plan on waiting until after Christmas before looking at the situation again and deciding what to do. I am placing it in God's hands at this point. I can't tell you what a sense of peace I felt as soon as I decided that(yesterday). All of the worry and anxiety simply left me. Everything will work itself out. In time.

Olympians to Watch-Liu Xiang China

Born: 13 July 1983

Birthplace: Shanghai (China)

Nationality: Chinese

Sport: Athletics

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Athens 2004


AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 1


Chinese Track Breakthrough


As a child, Liu Xiang was a high jumper until his sports school asked him to give up the event because a bone test showed that he would not grow tall enough to become a world-class jumper. He began training as a hurdler in 1998. In 2002 Liu broke Renaldo Nehemiah's 24-year-old world junior record for the 110m hurdles. The following year he earned a bronze medal at the World Championships of Athletics and stamped himself as a medal contender for the 2004 Olympics, although he was not considered a favourite for the gold. However, in the final, Liu's technique was nearly perfect as he barely touched the sixth hurdle and cleared all of the others cleanly. He powered to a victory of almost three metres. In so doing, he tied the 11-year-old world record of 12.91 seconds. Liu was the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics. Only 21 years old at the time of his victory, Liu vowed to defend his title when the Olympics come to Beijing in 2008.

Source: IOC

Help Needed

If there is anyone out there who has let their paperwork expire and is now updating their paperwork under the new Hague guidelines, could you please contact me? I am confused and frustrated and my agency is not being helpful. How much did your agency charge to do a Hague update? Is is possible to switch home study agencies at this point? Any information you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. scrappermg@cox.net

Olympians to Watch-Paul Hamm USA

Gymnastics
United States
Age: 25

As the defending Olympic men's champion, Hamm has a lot riding on his return to the rings. His Athens medal was contested by the South Korean runner-up, and not until the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared the gold was his, two months after the Games, could Hamm enjoy his victory. He's back to prove he deserves the title, but it won't be easy. While warming up for the national championships in May, Hamm broke his hand on the parallel bars, requiring surgery and seven weeks to recover.

We interrupt this week's Olympic fever........

To bring you a rant. Or a temper tantrum. Or a complete and total meltdown. Whichever of those things best describes the situation that went on at our house last night, which subsequently ended with me crying myself to sleep and waking up this morning with my eyes swollen almost shut.

And I can't even share it here with you all. Sigh.

This adoption is kicking my butt.

It has to do with updating our paperwork and a huge problem that we just found out about last night(via e-mail).

This of course has had us on the phone with both of our agencies this morning(we have a home study agency for the American side of things and a placing agency for the China side), trying to figure the whole thing out but right now it is a hot mess and I'm just so tired of it all.

Last night I was sad. Today I am angry.

Why can't any of this be easy?

How can "the powers that be" expect two people's lives to stay exactly the same and not have changed at all in a three year period of time(when we started this whole process)?

Everything has changed for us in the last 3 years. Our address. Our jobs. Our income level. Our doctors.

Why do they have to change the rules, making it more difficult for us to obtain the information that they require? (Although it is totally our fault that we have to adhere to the new requirements. But still-why did they have to change them?)

Why is China taking so freaking long, which is requiring us to do all of this over again in the first place?

WHY?!?!?

After lengthy conversations with both agencies it appears that all will work out. But first we must spend hours and hours of time obtaining all of the information that they need and mucho dinero to bring things back to where they should be.

If you are the praying type, could you spare one for us? We're gonna be needing them.

Olympians to Watch-Yang Wei CHINA

Gymnastics
China
Age: 28

By most measures of success, Yang Wei should be a happy man. In 2006 and 2007 the 28-year-old gymnast won the men's all-around World Championships. Outside of the competition hall, Yang was selected to serve as a deputy to China's parliament, the National People's Congress. And this June, Yang was honored in his home province by being selected as the lead torchbearer when the Olympic flame relay passed through provincial capital Wuhan. But Yang is still hungry, unable to forget the 2004 Olympics in Athens when he fell from the horizontal bar and missed the gold. Yang will be looking to make up for that failure and is considered a strong contender for a gold both in the team and all-around individual competitions as well as possibly on the parallel bars and the rings.

Olympians to Watch-Sheila Taormina USA

I have to admit I don't usually watch the "Modern Pentathalon" events, but this story touched me because she has a history of depression. Like me. And look what she can do!

Modern Pentathlon
United States
Age: 39

Want Olympic drama? Taormina, the first woman to qualify for the Olympics in three sports, has struggled with depression as she wondered why she was still chasing the Olympics in her late 30s. Her psychological struggle has had a physical counterpart: She's had to fend off a stalker, who went to prison for five years but was released earlier this year (he has steered clear). And she fought, and won, a spot on the modern pentathlon team, even though she had never fired a gun, picked up an épee, or ridden more horse than a kiddie-ride pony before starting the sport three years ago (modern pentathlon combines swimming, running, fencing, shooting, and equestrian). Taormina won a swimming relay gold in Atlanta in 1996, and competed in the triathlon the past two Olympics. She's back for a historic turn, which will surely raise the profile of modern pentathlon, also known in your Olympic program as "what the hell is that?"

Olympians to Watch- Guo Yue CHINA

Sport: Table Tennis
China
Age:20

Guo Yue has already made a mark on one of China's most storied sports. Born in the frigid northeastern province of Liaoning, Guo picked up a paddle at age six and started working her way through the rest of China. It didn't take her long. She rose through provincial competitions to a spot on the national team in 2000. Wins at the World Championships in 2007 against Li Xiaoxia and first-ranked Zhang Yining secured Guo's reputation as one of the golden girls of the game. She will play alongside Zhang as one of three members on China's women's team. The youngster on the team, the left-handed Guo is also the only one who hasn't won an Olympic gold. Zhang won both singles and doubles at Athens. Her doubles partner at Athens and Beijing teammate Wang Nan won golds in singles and doubles at Sydney. The fiercest competition is expected from the Republic of Korea and a fast-rising Singapore. Guo suffered a disappointing loss to Singaporean Li Jiawei at the 49th World Team Table Tennis Championships earlier this year. The pressure is on to see if Guo can win at Beijing and preserve China's historic dominance of the sport.

Check out the cool widget at the top of my blog showing the medal counts for the Olympics, with a Map of each country where the medal came from. It's from G**gle Earth. You can get one here. Too cool!

Olympic Pride

I love the Olympics. I always have. I remember watching them as a child, and have continued to do so into adulthood.

Joe and I will often stay in on the weekends, watching hours and hours of Olympic Events.

It is so exciting that the Olympics are in China this year, a place I have been, and hope to go again.

In honor of the Olympics, over the next 16 days I will be posting about some Olympians to look out for. I got (most of) them off of Time's list of 100 Olympic Athletes to Watch. I narrowed them down to only athletes from China or the US, and from the sports I enjoy watching the most.

So here are my three words for this week:
Stay tuned tomorrow for the first of many Olympians to watch!

Okay people, you asked for it. There's a Christmas ticker for ya.

I went to a Karaoke birthday party last night for my very good friend. I had Joe take a picture of me because I had done my hair and makeup and I was leaving the house past 9:00 and I wanted photographic evidence of it:
Here's me with the birthday girl:

Monica and I have been friends since we were 13 years old. That's 24 years! Pretty cool.

And No, I didn't sing this time. Last time a group of us sang "Friends in Low Places", but I just wasn't feeling it last night.

Monica and many other attendees did sing, and I have some video to prove it, but I won't post that here. I think they would thank me for that :)

I stayed out way too late(Joe had to work), and didn't get home until after 2:30 a.m!

I was dead tired today because of it though and consequently missed an appointment this morning and lunch with my Dad. :(

Me and no sleep do not mix well. It's OK, Joe assures me he'll stay up with Sophie in the middle of the night and let me sleep. I knew there was a reason I married that man.

Christmas Presents

Did you know there are only 139 days until Christmas? Well there are! And that's not really that long. That's why I have already started thinking about Christmas gifts. I knew this Christmas was going to be a little tight, money wise, so I already knew that most of my gifts were going to be handmade. Here's one item that I will be making(although this one is for a friend's birthday).


I'm making a bunch of these in different color schemes. They will have different sayings too. Some will have scriptures on them, some will be personalized with the Family's name, and others will have a saying similar to this one. I'm very pleased with how this one came out. I hope the receivers enjoy them! I am working on something else kind of cool too, so stay tuned!

I'm thinking about being really obnoxious and putting a Christmas counter underneath the LID counter at the top of my blog. Maybe not. That's pretty obnoxious :) But Dude! Only 139 more days!

Happy Birthday to My Nephew

Today is my nephew's birthday. He's turning 7. How is that even possible?

Happy Birthday Cameron! Aunt Michelle and Uncle Joe love you!
We'll celebrate when you come to visit in a couple of weeks.


♥ Get Cute MySpace Graphics & Lyts ♥

I Hate Ants

That's pretty much all I have to say on the subject. I mostly just wanted to move that last post down a bit. Just reading the first sentence gives me a sick feeling in my stomach. I am happy report that I had no dreams(good, bad, or otherwise) last night. Now back to making dinner.........:)

These Dreams

It was late at night when we arrived at the airport. We had no luggage. I found this to be odd. But I didn't question it. We boarded a plane.

There were other people there. Strangers, yet we knew them somehow. We didn't speak to each other, but smiled knowingly at each couple as we passed them down the aisle of the plane.

We passed the time dozing in and out of sleep. There was a movie playing. The flight crew served food. We didn't eat. We just stayed in our seats, clutching each other's hand.

The fight was long, yet it seemed as though we reached our destination in an instant after takeoff.

There were people there to meet us. They corralled us into a bus and whisked us off to our hotel.

Still no one spoke. There was a sense of nervousness in the air, anticipation. We reached the hotel. We were not taken to our rooms.

We were herded into a large conference room. It was a large group. Maybe thirty or forty other people besides us.

We were given lanyards, to be placed around our necks. At the end of the necklace was a square laminated piece of card stock. There were different colors.

On it was our first and last names, along with some words in Chinese.

We were separated into groups according to the color of our necklace. Blue, Red, Yellow.

Our necklaces were Yellow. The head of the agency was there. He stood up and made a speech. I couldn't understand his words. They were garbled. Like he was talking underwater.

One of the guides stood up and motioned for the Yellow group to come forward. The tension in the room was thick. People were crying. I was scared. I held on to Joe's hand for dear life.

He remained calm, as always. The guide lined us up, side by side at one end of the room.

At the other end of the room was a door.

The door opened and inside came Chinese women, one by one. In their arms they held babies. Beautiful, dark haired, almond eyed babies.

One by one the guide called out the names of each couple in our group.
One by one the Chinese women came forward and placed their babies into the arms of each couple.

There was crying. Tears being shed by both babies and couples. It was hot in the room. Sweat trickled down my back.

We waited for our turn. We were last. Things started moving in slow motion. It seemed they would never get to us.

Soon the couple next to us started to move away, their baby safely ensconced in their arms.

We were the last remaining couple. I surveyed the room. There were no more babies. The Chinese women were filing out of the room, through the door from which they came.

We were left standing in the middle of the room. No one noticed us or said anything to us.
I felt a sense of panic. "Wait!" I wanted to scream. " What about us? What about our baby?"

No words would come out. I turned to Joe. He smiled at me, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.

I motioned for the guide to come over to us. She was a young Chinese girl, in her twenties. She looked at me as if to say "What? Is something the matter?" No words were spoken between us. I motioned to the other couples and their babies. I jabbed my finger in our direction to convey the fact that we had not received a baby.

She looked puzzled. Then a look of understanding came over her face. She motioned to the next group of couples, the Red group. She indicated that we should get at the end of that line, that we would receive our baby then.

I held up my Yellow necklace. "But we're in the Yellow group! All of the other couples in the Yellow group received their babies! Why not us?"
She didn't answer. She just smiled an understanding smile and pointed towards the Red group.

I was beginning to panic. I could feel hot tears start to well up behind my eyes. I fought them back, as Joe pulled me forward, toward the Red group.

We stood in line with the couples in the Red group. Again, one by one the Chinese women filed through the door and handed off their charges to the couples in the group.

Again we received no baby. I could hold back the tears no longer. They flowed freely, as I motioned for the guide again, trying to convey the fact that once again we had not received a baby.

She look confused. She went over and spoke to the head of the agency. He looked over at us and with a look of sympathy, pointed to the Blue Group.

I was sobbing now, almost to the point of hyperventilating. We went and stood at the end of the Blue Group's line. Yet again each couple received a baby from one of the Chinese women, and yet again we were left standing, alone, in the center of the room.

After a few minutes the guides began herding the new families towards the opposite door, out of the room.

"No! We can't leave! We don't have our baby! Can't you see? Where's Sophie? I want Sophie!"

But still, no words would come out of my mouth. I was unable to speak. I was in a complete and total panic at this point.

One by one the couples filed out of the room. The head of the agency turned once before leaving and gave us a sad look, as if to say "I'm sorry."

I heard someone screaming. There was no one in the room but us. I looked around, trying to see where the screaming was coming from.



And then I woke up. And realized the screaming was coming from me. I was in my bed. Soaked in sweat, tears rolling down my face, my pillow soaked with them. My own screaming had woken me from this horrible dream.

I very rarely dream. And I almost never remember them when I do.

But this dream(shall we call it a nightmare?) left me feeling shaken, with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. I got up and immediately wrote it down, every detail that I could recall.

I'm not sure the retelling of it adequately conveys the panic I felt, the terror. It took me several minutes to calm my beating heart, wipe away my tears and try to go back to sleep.

Try, I say, because I never was able to drift off back to sleep.

I had a dream very similar to this awhile back, though not with this much detail. At least not that I was able to remember so vividly.

I think this post by Joannah brought that dream back into my subconscious.

It has been rolling around in my head ever since.

Maybe I just needed to work this out in my sleep.

This fear I have, that this adoption isn't going to work out. That at the end of this infinite journey we will still be childless.

I hope that I got it out of my system because that was not the most pleasant way to wake up this morning.

Tonight I'm taking a sleeping pill. :)




So I guess my three words for this week would be: