Ditbits: Umbilical Cords, New and Used

Sorry to leave ya'll high and dry for the past couple of weeks. Life... well, you know. And, frankly, the slightly colder, much darker days have slowed my metabolic muse. I make no other reasonable excuses.

But I do have a couple things to bring to the fore for a thorough airing out. Just a couple little intriguing tidbits...

Last weekend I visited my "baby," who is in grad school on Chicago's renowned South Side, and the experience took a virtual machete to the remaining remnants of the umbilical cord. I can honestly say that never have I felt more pulled to protect and nurture her, but NEVER has it been more poignantly clear that life has rendered her profoundly and completely in charge of her own well being. This has nothing to do with her and my feelings of connectedness but is solely about her ability to survive in the wild without me. Because, Baby, it's inarguably a jungle out there. When she has finished this year, she'll be qualified to climb Mt. Everest or navigate the Yangtze River solo, with only a paddle and a slingshot, whichever is required first. Please consider this an invitation to pray on her behalf.

In a quite different kind of news, my niece has found out she'll be giving birth to a girl in April, which wouldn't be newsworthy outside of our family boundaries except for the fact that, just a few weeks ago, she was going to be giving birth to a boy in April. Her father -- my brother-in-law -- has stated that this is certainly the earliest sex-change operation on record. In actuality, my niece had one of those exciting, flashy, not-doctor-sanctioned 4D Ultrasounds a while back and the "technician" told her the baby was male. My daughter-in-law also had a 4D early in her pregnancy, and they got it right. But in my niece's case, they apparently saw a little sum'n-sum'n that wasn't actually there. Soooooooo, the later ultrasound performed by the doctor's staff revealed that there was actually empty space where they once thought there was an appendage of specific significance. Bottom line: It's great news. The parents-to-be hadn't taken any irreversible action based on the 4D prediction, and they are tickled... yes, pink.

Now I'd like to take this opportunity to assume, based on my sketchy performance in recent weeks, that I won't be back on here with a Piece of Mind column or "Ditbit" before Thanksgiving and wish you a warm and cozy or wild and crazy -- whichever best applies -- Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading. I'm thankful for YOU.