Post the First

I'm calling my blog "The Naga Saga" because it is past midnight and I couldn't think of a better name. And also because it has some sentimental value, being one of many nicknames college friends gave me. And maybe, too, because some very significant changes are about to take place in my life, so I might as well blog about it and, heck, call it a saga while I'm at it.

1) Medical school at UT Southwestern begins on August 17th.

2) My baby girl is due in November.

Yes, these are happening in the same year. Call me crazy, judge me if you will, but it's how things have worked out and I can already see how it was the best decision. Between a loving hubby and a supportive super-mom, I have a feeling motherhood and medical school will be entirely compatible.

Well, I am sitting next to my uber cute Andrew, who is reading, and the only sounds are the clack of my keyboard and the swish-swash of the dishwasher. We have a cool, trendy loft apartment near downtown Dallas and our bellies are full of honey-soysauce-garlic-glazed chicken. For all this, I am supremely thankful. I spent five hours today perusing a Holocaust book, and I am haunted by images of humans starved out of existence and children being buried alive. It reminds me how much we have to be thankful for. (I'll probably need to remember that, come August 17th.)

"The Sanctification of Life." I believe that is what the Jewish people began to call their decision to celebrate, value, and cherish their life when the Nazi regime was trying to stamp it out. Kiddush ha-Hayyim.

I like it. In the face of all odds, these people were able to say: Yay, life!

L'Chaim!