Happy Women’s History Month! Here’s to the women who went ahead to guide us and those we are bringing up behind us.
“If I should have a daughter…“Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. And I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”
She’s gonna learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder-woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.
And “Baby,” I’ll tell her “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that, I know that trick, you’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.”
But I know that she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, ‘cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for, because rain will wash away everything if you let it.
I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind. Because that’s how my mom taught me. That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this my momma said” when you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say “thank you,” ‘cause there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.
You will put the “wind” in win some lose some, you will put the “star” in starting over and over, and no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.
And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting I am pretty damn naive but I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.
“Baby,” I’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier but your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”
Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.
Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing and when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”
B (If I Should Have a Daughter) – by Sarah Kay
Ariel Carver
Executive Director, The Birth Circle
director@athensbirthcircle.com
740-652-6262
Loss Support Group
Thursday, March 5th, 6:30 pm
Central Avenue Church, 73 Central Ave., Athens
If you are in need of support because of a pregnancy loss or the loss of your child, you are welcome to join us every first Thursday of the month for this support group. These meetings are free and facilitated by a professional social worker. All family members, such as grandparents, siblings, aunts, and uncles, as well as friends, are welcome. Childcare is provided.
Family Walks
Thursday, March 12th at 5:30 pm
The Market on State
Join Birth Circle members Rebecca and Shawn for our monthly walk. Bring your family or just come on your own for some socializing and a bit of exercise! Meet from 5:15-5:30 PM inside the Market on State and walk from 5:30-6:30 PM. Please indicate if you are coming to the event so that we know to wait for you! Hope to see you there!
Postpartum Support Group
Thursday, March 19th
6:30 pm at the Athens Library
Join us to share support and gentle yoga stretches as we navigate the period of postpartum transition. Pregnant Mamas and those past the “postpartum year” still in need of or willing to offer support are also welcome!
Due to the library’s busy spring schedule, this group will meet more sporadically during the months of March-June. We are committed to meeting once every month, during these months the day and/or location may be different. We are scheduled to resume our last Monday of the month meetings at the Library July-December. Keep an eye on the newsletter and Facebook for up to date information.
Prepared Parents Workshop
March 21st, 10 am – 2 pm
Athens Friends Meeting House, 22 Birge Dr, Chauncey, OH 45719.
This Camp is geared toward providing birth and parenting education and community building with young Mamas age 23 and under, though when we do have extra space and are glad to include others as well. We are halfway through our spring session and enjoying this new group of participants and all they have to share. Many thanks to our generous local restaurants who always make sure we are well fed! Thanks also to our partners at the Pregnancy Resource Center and Hopewell Health for providing support staff and curriculum to keep the program going strong! More information, as well as a video and the registration form, can be found on our website. We deeply appreciate your support! www.athensbirthcircle.org/prepared-parents-workshop
Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, March 25th, 6 pm <- Note the NEW TIME!
Athens Public Library, 30 Home St. Athens
Engaged Conversation with Open OHIO
From our coordinator at OU -> “OpenOHIO works to build civil health and perspective and community-building by facilitated, face-to-face conversations about topics that matter to people. Conversations are done in groups of 3-4 (including the trained facilitator), have a set of 3 question prompts, use butcher paper and markers to help people formulate their thoughts and express themselves, and last up to an hour. It’s a really fantastic experience, which I’ve found to be very poignant, challenging, and always supportive. The focus is on collective growth and communication, within the context of civil conversation (‘ground rules’ are explained and agreed upon at the beginning of each conversation group).”
The Birth Circle 12th Pregnancy & Baby Fair
Saturday, April 18th, 10 am – 2 pm
The Market on State
The Athens Birth Circle is excited to announce this year’s Pregnancy and Baby Fair on April 18th, 2020, at the Market on State.
In this FREE event, families can meet healthcare professionals, midwives, doulas, childcare providers, photographers, classes, and local service agencies. Every year we have dozens of vendors with essential goods for families and demonstrations. The event will also feature workshops and speakers focusing on a variety of birth and parenting topics.
The annual Pregnancy and Baby Fair is also one of the fundraisers for the Athens Birth Circle, a local non-profit that provides a wide range of services for growing families. A raffle featuring local and national vendors and products hopes to raise close to $1000 for the organization this year. The Birth Circle serves hundreds of families each year in the Southeastern Ohio area through its support groups, meals for families program, monthly education meetings, Young Parents Workshop, Family Walks, and more.
If you are interested in having a booth, sponsoring, donating a raffle, or volunteering for our 12th Pregnancy & Baby Fair, please visit https://www.athensbirthcircle.org/pregnancy-baby-fair/
Meals for Families
Let The Birth Circle community cook for you! If you’ve just had a baby, if you are going through another type of transition in your family, or have experienced a loss, The Birth Circle is more than happy to organize a meal calendar to help support you. If you are interested in receiving meals, providing meals or both, please contact our Meals For Families Coordinator, Ariel Carver at athensbirthcircle@gmail.com for more information.