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This is a very personal post, but one I feel I needed to write because I’m sure I’m not alone in my feelings on this subject. Never have I wished my relationship with my husband was both longer and stronger than in the last six months of pregnancy (essentially, since my body started undergoing this dramatic transformation). It’s easy to talk about the toll pregnancy has taken on my body and on my life. By now those gripes are well-known and understood courtesy of my knack for oversharing. It’s much harder to talk about the toll pregnancy has taken on my relationship. I want to be honest without assigning fault: I am not the same person that James fell in love with. Physically, that’s easy to notice. For one, I’m forty pounds heavier, which now means I’m probably heavier than my husband. When I look in the mirror, I don t see the same familiar face that has been staring back at me for decades, which means James doesn t see that face either. But there’s so much more to dissect beyond the physical I’m moodier than I’ve ever been; I’m not good at not complaining, which means he gets to hear me constantly complaining – let’s be honest – this is never a good look; I m perpetually exhausted and am rarely up for anything remotely fun; and its practically impossible for me to find joy in anything, not because I’m emotionally removed from joy, but because for me, I need to feel good physically to feel happy, and I just don’t feel good physically, like ever. What worries me though, like terrifies me actually, is that I might never again be the person James fell in love with. And if that is the case, will he be able to love the new me?This part isn’t physical. I’ll get my body back, in time. And with that, I’m sure I’ll feel sexy and desirable again too. I won’t want to lock the bathroom door while showering (in fear that he will be repulsed by my naked body). I will feel comfortable in my own skin and that confidence will make me beautiful again. But it’s so much deeper than that, isn’t it? My priorities will never be the same. Ever. I will soon be a mama bear, and with that new role, comes a new responsibility: my little cub comes first and foremost, forever. And I wonder what fun will look like now that we can’t just go out on a whim, stay out late, have all the beverages, have all the adventures? Someone has to be the responsible one and that will inevitably fall on me, partly by choice, but partly because we both can agree I’m the more mature partner. Also, I worry if he will ever be able to see me the same after he sees my push out a baby and then spend months nursing said baby. And I believe these are all real fears that for some reason we aren’t allowed to talk about. But quite frankly, it sucks to have to come to terms with a new relationship on new terms and the very real fear that it won’t work!I have never tried to hide the fact that my relationship is far from perfect. We fell in love fast, we moved fast, and it was all butterflies until one day when it wasn’t anymore, and then we were faced with ALL the challenges of a fast relationship; ALL the conversations we should have had, but didn’t; all the differences that come from being two fully formed individuals trying to fit into each other’s lives the differences we shouldn’t have ignored but did anyway because that’s what you do when you fall in love and allow yourself the privilege of being swept away. And now there is this extra added layer of intricacy, of hardship: how the hell will we survive with baby when we were barely surviving without him? I did not get pregnant to bring us closer together. And thank god for that, because let me clear on one point: pregnancy will not bring you closer together if the foundation is not already strong, what exists of it will crumble. I got pregnant because I woke up 10 months ago and decided I was ready to be a mom (finally, after all these years). And part of that decision was that I had met someone who was going to be a brilliant father. This I knew from the first day I met him. This much stands true regardless of whether our marriage survives.I will end with this: I love this man with all of my soul. His child is growing inside me my second heart half belongs to him and my first fully does. I want nothing more than for us to be a family and I will fight for that to happen until there is no fight left in me. And if it doesn’t, it will be the biggest heartbreak of my life. I’m not afraid to be honest about my fears going forward. I don’t have to paint a picture of a perfect anything in order to convince myself or anyone else that my life is good. My life is good, in all of its imperfection. And it will continue to be good, regardless of how the future plays out. It’s been a hard fight in a short time for us to get here, James and I. It hasn’t been easy; my god, it hasn’t been easy! But all we can do is try. And keep trying. Read More Dear Dad,Seven days after you passed away, I found myself on the rooftop of one of my favorite hotels in West Hollywood. I had spent the last week in bed wrestling with my emotions, falling in and out of tears, at times overcome by sadness, at times feeling nothing at all, mostly trying to grasp how I was supposed to feel, and finally deciding that maybe what was best for me was to stop thinking so much and resume living. Funny how you had been preparing us for your death since before I can remember, and maybe the preparation worked, because what I felt most of all after the initial shock of losing you had passed, was a calm – like your death was the end of a beautiful, but broken, love story.The story began in Portland, Oregon in 1981, when we were acquainted for the first time. You took me under your wing immediately, mostly because Mom was preoccupied with her Gerber baby who required a bit more attention than I did. And so we became. Of course we did! I was my father’s daughter from the start. You were always the model of the person I wanted to become – independent, strong, proud, quick-witted, charming, worldly, sophisticated, and beyond intelligent. I always wanted to be close to you, even if it meant playing with tools in the garage on Delma Way, learning how to check the oil in your car, or accompanying you on various errands around town. And more than anything I wanted to make you proud of me, which is why I relished those nights when we would watch Jeopardy as a family and I’d shout out the correct answer only to sneak a glimpse of you from the corner of my eye, hoping that you’d noticed. Even to this day, I have an absurd obsession with mail, because when you and Mom were divorced, I felt honored that you gave me the responsibility of collecting your mail. And I’ll never forget the day you moved out – you were in the garage packing the last of your belongings and I sat watching until I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I snuck off to weep privately as I didn’t want you to know how much it hurt me to see you go.You told us that nothing would change, but of course everything did. And I probably knew that it would, which is why the moment will never escape me. It’s the most vivid memory I have of you from my childhood. Leaving.Much of my adult life has been spent observing other fathers and daughters and wishing our relationship could have been like theirs. We never held hands. We never had sleepovers. We never took trips together. We didn’t talk every day or even every week or month. Our affection was limited to hello and goodbye hugs. You didn’t move me into college. You weren’t there to help with my homework. You never sat down and had the father talk with my boyfriends. You never even knew about them. In truth, there was a lot I wanted in a father that you didn’t deliver on. But shame on me for letting the hugeness of that swallow what we did have. There was immeasurable depth in the moments we spent together, limited they were.About ten years ago, when I was living in San Diego, you drove down from Sacramento to visit a woman you were seeing. At the time, I was just happy to have you there, as I’d invited you on many prior occasions, knowing that you loved the city I had chosen to make my home because of its similarities to where you had grown up in the Caribbean. I had you over for Thanksgiving dinner – made lasagna, your favorite meal – it was probably the only Thanksgiving we ever spent together since the divorce. I remember buying you a pecan pie, and being nervous that it wasn’t good enough because I didn’t bake it myself. My own happiness was so intricately entwined with yours, always. Naively, I believed I could make you happy. I thought I could fix your life, heal your wounds. My relationship with you, at least on my end, was exclusively devoted to the cause.A few years after your San Diego visit, after I had broken up with my long-term boyfriend, and was going through an intense period of growth and reflection, it occurred to me that you didn’t come down to San Diego to see me. You came down to see a woman you had barely known. And though I’d asked you many times, there was always a reason why you couldn’t. But you could for her. And then I started thinking about our relationship over the past two decades since you left Mom, and I realized that other women, and other things, always came before me. Before us. And then everything changed. My life at the time was a series of fragments – and that revelation was the glue that pulled them all together. I understood myself better than ever. But in gaining self-knowledge, I lost something incredibly valuable. I lost you.A year and a half ago, I was sitting in the office of my therapist, discussing whether or not it would be a good idea to call you on your birthday. We hadn’t spoken in some time, and somehow I felt I wasn’t ready to forgive you for your latest slight. She told me that we don’t always have to have relationships with members of our family, especially if doing so causes more pain than good. I made the small decision not to call you and wish you a Happy Birthday. But it wasn’t just about the phone call. Really what I was deciding was that I wasn’t going to have a relationship with you anymore, because you’d hurt me one too many times. I remember driving back to my law firm after therapy and considering the ramifications of my decision. You might die, and if you did, that would be how our story ended. Of course, I didn’t want that to be the ending. I wanted you to be my father, the hero, the knight in shining armor. I wanted you to save me, save us, by loving me the way I loved you.The day I left for Paris was one of the most exciting days of my life. I was setting myself free after having been broken, sad, and caged for far too long. It was the culmination of everything I had learned about myself in the last few years of being alone. It was me mending my own broken heart and taking back my life. So when Cecile called to say goodbye to me when I was driving to the airport, and then gave the phone to Amala, who gave the phone to you, I didn’t have it in me to talk to you, so I hung up. Any other day and it would have been different. I had waited months for that phone call. And I had given my entire life for the happiness of you and everyone else. But that was my day.The first book I read in Paris was Cheryl Strayed’s “Tiny Beautiful Things.” In responding to a letter from a single mother who had been abandoned by her child’s father, she writes, “One day, years from now, your son or daughter will have to account for his or her father (and for you, as well). There will be a reckoning. There is always a reckoning. For every one of us. Accounting for what happened in our childhoods and why and who our parents are and how they succeeded and failed us is the work we all do when we do the work of becoming whole, grown up people.”Here is mine. You left us, Dad. We were your children, and you left us. And then you came back when you wanted to, or when you needed something, but once you were gone, you were mostly gone. And there was a huge gaping hole in my heart the shape of a father who walked out on his little girl who loved him more than she loved herself. And for years, I put everything I had into filling that hole, but to no avail. They loved me the way you loved me. They left me the way you left me.But that is not how our story ends. Seven days after you passed, a guardian angel found his grieving daughter on a hotel rooftop in West Hollywood. You’ve been with me ever since. And seven days after you passed, a wonderful gentleman found your grieving daughter on a hotel rooftop in West Hollywood. And he’s been with me ever since.I know you’d love him, Dad. Thank you for watching over me and sending me someone to finally fill the hole.With love forever,Gabrielle Read More A year ago yesterday, I left for Paris. At the time, everyone lauded me for my bravery. It takes immense courage to quit your job and embark on something new and different, they said. Strange how I didn t feel brave at all. The decision was made on a whim and everything after that felt effortless. The pieces fell into place naturally, as if it was my destiny to be there, then. And it was!Towards the end of my adventure, I felt a tiny bit nervous about returning home to a familiar life with a future unknown. Again, as if destiny were the theme of 2015, things worked out quite brilliantly and the transition back was smooth and pain free.And that s where my story took a turn for the worse. Not surprisingly, I felt the storm brewing in the last days of the year I was anxious and not at all excited to say goodbye to what had been the absolute best year of my life. I had an inkling that what lay ahead would require the bravery that was generously bestowed upon me when least deserved.It s been a battle. Every day feels like a new fight. To get out of bed. To find the motivation to live out my true dreams. To make the day count. To make the year stand for something other than complete confusion. Inside I feel defeated. It feels like everything that gave me value in my past life has been stripped from me. I feel worthless. Which is a feeling I can just barely tolerate. What s too much to bear most days is the sense that I ve got myself so mixed up in this maze called life that I can t find my way back to me. It s like I m stuck in a labyrinth in the dead of darkness and I m waiting to see a glimmer of light. It s been the longest night of my life, so it seems, but I m still here. But what s neverendingly beautiful in the midst of this delirium is that life isn t going to make it easy for me by leading me back to my old self. That s cheating, and every last one of us can do better than taking the shortcut to our becoming. I ve got to pave my own way through this damn darkness and in the process I m transforming into a better, stronger, braver me. Read More Perhaps its fitting with Valentine s Day, but February has been most interesting on the love front. For starters, history tells me that I ve got a penchant for the unavailable. Fleeting attention is my jam. If you live halfway across the world and reach out only once in a blue moon, chances are I will morph into a hopelessly devoted. I m a sucker for pleasure (and concomitant pain). I want to suffer, burn for my love. It feels awkward, unnatural, if its delivered to my doorstep wrapped in Tiffany blue and accompanied by roses. When it happens the way it should, my instinct tells me to let it alone. Meanwhile, I m going all kinds of crazy over him and him and him, all of whom make appearances in my life with the infrequency of the changing of seasons. I know it s unfulfilling in the long-term, but still, it s incredible how many times I can re-play our last love story in my mind, each time remembering a new detail like it happened just yesterday. Somehow it keeps me going over the extended periods of no contact. It feels like home. Clearly, unavailability is my comfort zone.So this year, I resolved to step outside it. Because I want real love. The kind that remembers your favorite flower and has it delivered to your office just because. The kind that drops everything to be there for you when you are going through a tough time and can t stand to be alone. The kind that loves you for all the things you love about yourself, but are pretty sure no one else notices. The kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night to give good love and then holds you tight until morning.I started off on the right track, at least it would seem. I limited my dating pool to men who live within a 50 mile radius of my home and who were unencumbered. I was feeling confident about the prospect of something real. But then, the universe went and threw me a curve ball someone from my past who most definitely did not live within a 50 mile radius of my home. And then another. And another. So I took a swing at them all. (The heart wants what it wants).  And just like that, I found myself back to my old ways, back to my old woes.And now here I am, lying in bed on a Tuesday night, insomnia threatening to steal the night away from me like a good lover, wondering if this is a test, if I m perpetually undeserving of the love I desire because every time I m given the opportunity to not mess it up, I somehow manage to do exactly that. If it is, it seems I ve pulled the Go to Jail card in monopoly (do not pass go, do not collect $200).  But then again, maybe the real lesson of love is that we are meant to make the same mistakes over and over again until someone comes into our life who inspires us to make it right this time? After all, we are imperfect humans, every last one of us. We have hearts that lead us astray time and time again. But at the end of this journey, we don t get a special accolade for playing by the rules, for saying no to the wrong temptations, for closing ourselves off to the beautiful feelings that are borne even from mistakes. We don t get anything at all except the opportunity to look back at our experiences and realize that we ve grown from them. And growth doesn t prejudice itself to right. In fact, most of the time, it would seem the opposite is true. So I ve probably made about twenty mistakes this month alone. Of course, I know better now, but no matter how hard I try, my heart keeps sending me back to dance with hope the dream that maybe this time will be different. So I failed the test. But fuck, it was good it always is. And maybe next time will be different. Read More Free People skirt, tank, shirt, Chloe bag, Ray-Ban sunniesI was really hoping for a rainy winter in Southern California because we are in desperate need of water, but for the past week, we ve been hit with a heat wave and I mean heat wave! Since its feeling like summer, I thought I d post these photos I took this past fall in Joshua Tree, because well, this is how we dress for February in these parts! Have a good week loves! Read More

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