Like with all babies and toddlers, Adahlia’s life is a wonderful series of “firsts,” and there have been a lot of “firsts” for Adahlia recently.

This past week, she saw her first earthworm. We were walking up the hill from checking the mail, and it had recently rained. Squiggling helpless on the sidewalk in the sun’s warming rays, vainly trying to burrow into pavement, was an earthworm. He was medium-sized, maybe even on the skinny side. He seemed a bit dehydrated.

“Adahlia, look!” I called, for she had let go of my hand and was a few paces ahead. I squatted and pointed. “An earthworm!”

True to curious form, she came over to investigate. After peering at him for awhile, she broke into a smile, pleased. Carefully, I picked him up and he flexed himself in my palm, nosing the air for answers.

“Be gentle,” I warned Adahlia, as she ventured an index finger forth.

I didn’t let her touch him (she’s not yet mastered the concept of gentle), and she came with me as I put him down in a little area of dampish soil. She squealed happily as he began to move.

“They till the soil,” I told her. “If it weren’t for earthworms, plants wouldn’t be as healthy, and our food wouldn’t be as good.”

We watched him for awhile. Then she took my finger as we continued up the hill, and I felt an immense rush of joy in being able to share such an important, yet humble, member of our environment with her.

Fun fact: In ancient Chinese texts, humans and earthworms are said to belong to the same family, for we are the naked creatures. Isn’t that interesting?

Another first:

Also this week, Adahlia had her first high-speed “fly-by” from a hummingbird. Going at top speed, and at her eye level, the hummingbird zoomed right past her, leaving her agape and somewhat startled.

“A hummingbird!” I said, excited. We were at the park at the top of our neighborhood hill, Lost Park. Years ago, while pregnant with Adahlia, Joe and I had watched a hummingbird climb dozens of feet into the air, hover dramatically, and then plunge straight down, pulling out of the dive at the last moment. He did this stunt many times over, making the hummingbird’s unique whirring, almost metallic-sounding call. He was showing off for a nearby girlfriend… and hopefully, she was impressed. We were! Maybe this was the same guy, or perhaps it was his own baby.

Our house has lots of flowering plants around it. After Adahlia was born, hummingbirds used to come to the large picture window of our living room and hover, watching her. Hummingbirds are good signs. They are considered spirits of the southern direction; they are representatives of laughter, joy, and warmth.

Another first:

Tonight , Adahlia brought her very first firewood to our fire. A couple days ago, at the park, she had found a large piece of wood amongst the wood chips of the playground. It was about as long as my forearm, thin, and maybe four inches wide. She carried it over to me, her face alive with excitement, holding it up with her right hand as she signed “fire!” with her left. I laughed and agreed and put it in the stroller to bring home.

She also found a wood chip about the size of a silver dollar. I could tell she wanted to keep it, too. But both were wet, so when we got home I removed them from the stroller and set them in the garage to dry.

Tonight, I went with her into the garage to get some boxes to pack away some books. When I turned around, she was holding both the large and small pieces of wood.

“Your firewood!” I exclaimed. “You want to build a fire?”

She nodded.

“Ok, you bring your wood.”

She carried both pieces inside. I tore up a brown paper bag and together we opened the stove. She tossed in the small piece, and set the larger piece in next. I added some more kindling and lit it.

Up til now, she had only seen us purchase wood at grocery stores. This was the first time we had collected wood, and she did it on her own initiative. She had found wood to feed the fire, and she had fed the wood (put it in the empty stove) to the fire herself.

It feels important.

I should go to bed now. This is a big week for us: I am having an emergency surgery to stabilize my kidney (the last surgery didn’t hold) on Tuesday and Adahlia is due for transfusion the next day. Meanwhile, we are packing up to move — we are downsizing to a one bedroom apartment. (It’ll be cozy — like living in a treehouse. Unfortunately, however, the treehouse doesn’t have a fireplace. Boo! Adahlia will miss it!)

I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to this surgery. It’ll be the 3rd one in less than a year, and I’ve never so much as had a broken bone before. Between kidney failure during pregnancy to giving birth and my subsequent kidney issues…. well, my poor body. It’s amazing. It’s doing an absolutely amazing job of hanging in there. God, I love it. Don’t give up, kidneys!

I think I’m going to do general anesthesia again, this time. Though I hate how it feels — it is like liquid ice being poured into your veins… Positively eerie — the spinal that I received the first time was just sooo painful. Plus, the spinal takes longer to wear off and I can’t leave the hospital until my legs and bladder are no longer numb. That means an extra few hours before I can see Adahlia. So though I feel anesthesia was rougher on my body and vital force as a whole (it took me about a week to feel warm again after the second surgery), and there is always the risk of the anesthesia getting into the breastmilk, I am leaning towards general anesthesia.

Then again, since this is just an emergency stabilizing surgery, and I will have to have a bigger, more invasive one after it to “fix” the root problem, and I’ll definitely have to do general anesthesia for that one, maybe I will go with the spinal after all.

But goodness, the idea of that scares me. It took them 7 pokes into my spine last time. By the time they got the right spot, I was crying and begging them to please stop. And there’s always the possibility of spinal fluid leakage post surgery, or loss of sensation dye to nerve damage.

Decisions, decisions. Truly, both options have benefits and risks.

Yet, I have hope. Even with this recent kidney emergency, and my fears for how much of my right kidney could possibly still be functioning at this point, how much might have atrophied, I am much, much stronger and more vital than I was for my first two surgeries. I attribute my relatively good well-being to the excellent care (acupuncture and supplements and herbs and diet) I’ve received and given myself over the last year.

God, these last few years have been so tough!

But that’s ok. Adahlia and I and Joe are even tougher.

We will just keep on looking out for hummingbirds and earthworms.

Light a fire for us, and toss in a piece of wood for Adahlia, if you get a chance.