Sometimes, I find the passage of time stunning. I know that I've lived almost thirty years (21 days away from that milestone, I am), but it still baffles me sometimes.

Today, we commemorate the passing of Mr. Frank Buckles, the last American doughboy to serve in World War I. I read his obituary this morning while the baby is kicking away in my belly. And all I can think is that someday I'll have to explain to this little one that his or her great-grandpa served in World War II, and for them, THAT war will seem just as far as World War I does to me.

And this baby will certainly see the deaths of the last World War II veterans; given the longevity of the current American citizen, I'd lay good money that the baby will see the deaths of the last Vietnam War veterans, too.

But how do you make these deaths real to them? How do you make them understand, particularly with World War II, that these veterans made such an immense sacrifice for them? How do you explain that their great-grandpa was a naval radio operator on two different oceans--the Atlantic and the Pacific, as well as in the Mediterranean? How do you explain that their other great-grandpa flew bombing runs over Italy, and managed to miraculously survive a crash landing of his plane? How do you explain that their great-great-uncle was an army photographer who took all the photos of the men who left Maryland for the great beyond, some never to return? How do you explain that they had myriads of relatives who served in the American army, numerous more great-great uncles and cousins and other family members?

How do you tell them that it's because of these men and many more like them that Jews are still free today? That their grandparents and their mom grew up knowing that they had everything to be thankful for? That they were exceedingly lucky that their relatives had left Europe at the right time?

I can tell them the stories; I can tell them who these people were. They can talk to their grandparents and learn even more. But understanding the impact of their deaths... that's something I'm not sure how to do yet.

I suspect I'll figure all this out as I learn how to be a parent. But it's still some interesting food for thought.

Thank you, Mr. Buckles.

I am saddened to report the passing of our television sometime during the late afternoon or early evening of February 23, 2011. It was a faithful TV, passed on to us by my brother's future-in-laws, and it was well-loved for its ability to transmit the news, Glee, and American Idol, along with copious amounts of Good Eats. It now refuses to respond to the power button being pressed, and was pronounced dead at approximately 10pm on the same evening.

In lieu of flowers, recommendations for new HDTVs can be freely given.

There are times when the loneliness of pregnancy is overwhelming, when I long to be in school this semester, when I long to be able to go to an office and chat with people... but then there are times like today.

My unstable pelvis, let me show you it.

I've been in a lot of pain recently; pain that I didn't think should be happening at 17-18 weeks of pregnancy; pain that involved certain unmentionable areas of me that didn't seem should be hurting quite yet. So I called my doctor, like any sensible pregnant lady confronted with the fact that their groin hurt like hell whenever they moved should do. The doctor, responded in kind, and said, sure, come on in for a checkup between your regular OB appointments.

So I went for the checkup yesterday, and as far as my doctor and I can tell, I have something called symphysis pubis dysfunction. It's not all as cheery as What to Expect makes it out to be, so here's the brief version:

When women are pregnant, there's lots of hormone action going on. One of the hormones is called relaxin, which does pretty much what it's name says--it relaxes all the parts of you that need to move to accommodate the baby in pregnancy and birth. But sometimes your body produces too much relaxin, at which point your symphysis, your pubic bone, decides that it would be a lot of fun to move away from the other bones in your pelvis. This leads to instability, a LOT of pain, and the fun sensation that something is totally, totally wrong. I should be clear that it's not the bone itself which is separating, but the cartilage on either side of the bone that is expanding and getting inflamed, thus causing lots of pain.

But it's not enough to get rid of the inflammation, since pregnant women can't actually take most drugs that stop inflammation in pregnancy; they're bad for the baby's circulatory system. And inflammation isn't the sole cause, because then the pregnant woman gets to deal with the fact that she now has an unstable pelvis, and will continue to have one until her body ceases to produce relaxin after giving birth.

Yeah, it sounds like a bundle of fun, doesn't it?

I was seriously bummed about it yesterday, but it doesn't seem quite as bad today. It poses some complications for giving birth, but it's mostly in what positions you can safely give birth in. And the pain during the pregnancy can be partially alleviated by lots of core/pelvic muscle physical therapy, which I will be embarking on as soon as I can get an ortho prescription for it.

But yeah, it's times like this when not having to get out of the house on a regular basis is actually beneficial, since I can't walk without pain and I'm supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible. I'm also supposed to find a comfy position to sit in, but so far, I'm only comfortable when hugging a body pillow between my legs while lying down. Being lonely sucks, but being able to stay home and rest when you need it is far better than the alternative.

See, I'm looking on the bright side, right? =)

Dearest Internet, I need your help!

We won't go into cost for any of these items since Chris and I are fine with paying the money. But we are torn between buying a stroller that matches the Graco car seat we're thinking of getting, and buying a separate stroller that is just that much cooler and more awesome.

This is the car seat that we're most likely going to get for the baby:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3709770

We played with it in person, we've read reviews of it and Consumer Reports of it, and we like it a bunch. My parents also approve of it, which is an added bonus.

Now, we could get the semi-matching Graco stroller for it. Obviously the pattern of the stroller is different, but that doesn't actually bother me. The advantages of getting this stroller is that the car seat would snap into the stroller for easier use, frex, if I was going through an airport alone with a baby. This is the Graco stroller:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4274420

Finally, this is the stroller that I adore and love and was totally planning on getting after researching it extensively. The car seat doesn't snap onto it. I'm not sure I should worry about a car seat snapping onto it, honestly.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3605828

Now, the stroller I love can have a car seat added into it, but we honestly like the Graco car seat better because it has such a nice, big canopy to cover the baby up during sunny drives. On the other hand, maybe it would be convenient to have a stroller and a car seat that snap together. I have no idea, honestly, which is why I'm asking you, internet.

Please comment! =)

What's happening in Wisconsin right now makes me want to applaud the Democrats and kick the Republican governor. But despite that, I don't actually want to talk about unions from the basis of either party.

Look, I know unions are characterized in America as fat cats who are taking the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars and hurting all the "average" Americans. I call bullshit on that.

I also call bullshit on the fact that most Americans don't care about unions and have never benefited from unions in their lives.

I'm sorry, perhaps you'd like a little, fairly simplistic history lesson? A short one?

Welcome to America, average Americans, the land that is reputably built upon immigrants. None of us, with the exception of the Native Americans, were supposed to be here originally. All of us--no matter what part of the world we came from--got here by ship and plane and train. Our ancestors--those same immigrants--were mostly not wealthy people. If they were wealthy, chances are good that they would have stayed in their original country, as long as that country wasn't involved in a brutal war at home.

So these non-wealthy immigrants come to America, and they need a job. And who is willing to hire immigrants who don't speak English? Who is willing to give our poor ancestors a job? Why did I hear you give the answer just now? Could you possibly be thinking of what I'm thinking? Does it start with the letter "F"?

Yes, yes it is factories! Factories, those wonderful bastions of industrialization that didn't really care if you could communicate well in English, as long as you could get your job done. And those people who worked in the factories, who mostly didn't speak English, they had shitty wages. They couldn't complain about the terrible working conditions or working hours or the fact that they weren't earning enough to support their families.

But some of those workers had been there longer than others. Maybe they were here for five, ten, fifteen more years than the recent immigrants. So they formed unions. They could speak decent English. They had the immigrants join those unions. And together, with the power of numbers and determination and pure will, these unions got better working conditions, better wages, and better lives for our ancestors.

They made sure our ancestors could have our parents. Or our grandparents. That they could raise our families to aspire to better things. That they could put food on the table and make sure there were clothes on their backs. They could scrimp and save and pay for doctors when they needed them. They could even be buried with the help of the union, when they eventually passed away.

Without the unions that formed in this country, most of our ancestors would have been far, far worse off. They worked their asses off to ensure a better life for their families, and that, my dear average Americans, is why you have a middle-class lifestyle nowadays. Without the advantages that our ancestors had, our grandparents and our parents would have had radically different lives, and thus, we would have had radically different lives.

My great-grandfather spied upon the managers for the garment workers union in NYC almost 100 years ago. My grandfather helped found a chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Brooklyn; he was an electrician and the union damn well made his life better. My father is a member of a union today, and even though it's a vastly different sort of union than my other relatives belonged to, the AFL-CIO gave me a scholarship to college that helped me pay my way.

Unions have been good to my family. And they've been good to yours. Try to remember this from time to time.

(This brief blog essay brought to you by snark and passion combined with a good helping of common sense thrown in.)