Calm (and Cleaning)

Somehow, over the weekend, I managed to find a little peace. Perhaps because it was our first slow weekend since....since....since....well, I honestly don't remember when we had a slow weekend last. But, with just the three of us together from Friday night through Sunday night, my load lightened a bit. It was a rainy weekend and not without a time out here and there, but we got some down time with each other and with friends, and we even managed to make a few more arrangements around the house for whenever BWNo.2 decides to arrive. (By the way - I believe I heard Harrison try to put the dogs in time out this morning as we got ready to leave the house. Not sure what Ozzie and Mara did to deserve this, but I can only imagine that they are 10x worse at sitting in one spot for one minute than HD is!)

Part of my peace came from my weekly belly picture post on facebook which received some lovely comments and some great advice this Sunday. First, a note about the compliments. You all have no idea how much it means to a girl (woman/mom/etc.), who is 9 months pregnant, to hear something nice about how she looks. It is especially nice on a subsequent pregnancy because you show sooooo much earlier and feel sooooo much more pregnant (or perhaps you just feel pregnant for sooooo much longer). I had students last spring who said, "Yeah, we kind of wondered" when I announced (at just shy of 12 weeks!) that I expecting - not exactly the kind of comment to boost one's spirits, you know? But now, as I near the end, I am flattered by and grateful for the belly love I am receiving from others. And really, as long as I don't look at myself in profile too much, I don't even feel too big. It's just nice to know that other people can appreciate this body and what it is doing, too. So thank you for your kind words and love.

Second, a note about the advice from a very wise mom (and grandma to toddlers) that I received telling me to enjoy these last few weeks with Harrison. I have been so consumed with making the adjustment to life with two little ones that I haven't really taken time to consider that this is my last month with just one little one. I vowed that I would make the most of this special Mama and Harrison time, and while everything may not be 100% sunshine and roses, the last two days have been different. It is not that our activities have been all the different, but there has been an attitude shift - in the right direction - for sure. I don't want to make the transition all the more shocking for him when "normal" soon changes for good in our lives, but I do want him to feel my love right now with the hope that he'll understand in the future that his place in my heart will never change or belong to anyone else.

So here I am. Waiting as patiently as I can and feeling much more relaxed about, well, everything. I must admit, however, that my house is shockingly clean for a Tuesday evening. Not that everything is polished and perfectly in place, but it occurred to me that if I do, by chance, go into labor, I don't want to leave behind a whole mess of chaos here at the house. So yes, I am more at peace with waiting, but you can sure bet I'll find things to fill the time as I do it!