Waiting

Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen. It has come to my attention that I have not posted anything in six days. Who knew my life was so boring? Oh, turns out I did. 

I had the opportunity to help babysit some kids while their parents were "waiting." To the average person, this may be slightly confusing. Here in the Bush, waiting means something a little different.

While most parts of a pregnancy work just like you'd expect, delivery is a little different here, away from medical care.  Three to six weeks before a woman's due date, depending on the pregnancy, they leave town and fly to Nome. There is a Maternity house there, where all the pregnant women live together, and wait to go into labour. 

There are doctors in Nome, and most women do just fine there. However, when there's a problem, they get shipped off to Anchorage.

Right now, our science teachers wife is in Nome, waiting. If the baby doesn't come by Monday, she's getting shipped off to Anchorage, and that kid is going to be born on Tuesday, by hook or by crook. 

This separation, especially between the mother and the young children she's leaving behind is often stressful.  

Once the child is born, there's a couple days of recovery, and mom flies home with the baby. At a time when most women won't take the baby to church yet, let alone the grocery store, the women of my village pack up the kid and everything they needed for the last month, and get on a plane to return home. 

Have I mentioned that the women in my village are amazing? The women in my village are amazing.