Friday, April 03, 2009

Return of the Radish Legs

When I was on my mission in Korea, I had this wonderful companion named (forgive the strange spelling…) Eee Young Mi. We were in the same apartment for a couple of months before we actually became companions. She was a terrible tease and also a hard worker. Well, Sister Eee thought I was downright chubby. (Think of what she'd say now….) And actually she was a little jealous of my chub. She was a total stick. She used to call me Sister Potato, because that's how I was shaped. (In her eyes only, I'm sure.) So in return I called her Sister Snake, which actually kind of ticked her off because she hated being so skinny. (Awww, don'cha feel bad for her?) Anyway, we loved each other and only served together for a very short time. I think maybe it was just one month. One day we were walking around together in the outdoor market. We passed a lady selling big plastic bins of radishes. Not the cute little radishes we have here in America. These things are HUGE. Big fat long white things. I think here they're called daikon radishes. In Korean they're called "moo." As she glanced at them she paused. Then her eyes absolutely lit up with delight and she turned to look at me. "I know what you are! You're a 'moo-dadi!'" (When you say 'dadi,' it's kind of like saying 'darri' but you're flipping your r's, k?) That word, dadi, means legs. Yes, I have radish legs. Big white lumpy things. Isn't that nice?

The reason I'm thinking of this memory is because I looked down at my legs today and this story jumped instantly to my mind. I had to start laughing. I am certain that my moo-dadi legs of today absolutely shame my moo-dadi legs of the past. Pregnancy has settled into my ankles. Not a pretty picture, I know, but I'm hopeful it's only going to last a couple more months. I had an ultrasound yesterday. I'm 32 weeks along (only 2 weeks away from where I was when Stomper showed up!) and I think my midwife just wants to help me feel secure and at peace. I've never had a late term ultrasound before. It's kind of crazy – you can only see one little part of the baby at a time and it's a little harder to tell what you're looking at. I thought it would be easier. Big long feet, all the right parts and pieces, and we could even see some fuzzy hair on the back of her head. And oh yes, it's no longer a question if she was hiding any boy parts in her last ultrasound. She wasn't. I'm actually getting pretty excited for this little gal to show up! It makes bearing the radish legs a little easier.

This is a page scanned from my mission album. Sister Eee is the gal in the blue jumper next to me in front of the fire trucks. (That was an interesting morning...)

7 comments:

stephgardner said...

I didn't realize that Stomper had come so early - I guess he didn't have too much trouble because I don't remember hearing about it...

Bella said...

rachel...you are killing me! 'big white lumpy things'!! i feel bad that i am laughing so hard right now! but i am laughing WITH you!!

Misty said...

Oh my friend ... the lumpiness we go through to bring these beautiful kids here. :) I personally think your legs look more like Barbie's, but that's just me. :)

Windybrook Spinner said...

It's so weird how the randomest things from your mission suddenly pop into your head. It's awesome and strange at the same time.

Kathleen said...

Did I show you my legs in the hospital after I had Lucy? Those radishes are EXACTLY what my legs looked like...I'll show you the picture someday!

I don't know Sister Eee was talking about. You look positively thin in those pictures!!!

The Burts said...

LOL! What a fun mission memory and cute companion. I am excited for your little gal to arrive soon too!

Swimmingmom said...

Ummm, potato? Chubby? Not quite. Funny how our bodies change so much when we are pregnant though. My sil who is due around the same time as me (I'm 30 weeks) was over yesterday and I was thinking she was pretty huge and I was much smaller and had to look cuter. Then I walked past a mirror- horrors!