This working woman has got to work!

So, time is ticking down to the arrival of our little bundle of joy! At my last appointment with the midwife, she said that Baby K was in good position and even though my due date is still a few weeks off, just consider ourselves at "any day now" status. How exciting!

Well, now that I am clearly walking around with a stomach akin to a regulation size women's basketball under my shirt, I'm getting lots of questions from strangers about my worklife. People are amazed that I'm still able to get to work everyday (but not so amazed that I can manage to walk around a mall or up and down the streets). Then when I inform them that I am only going to be off for 6 weeks post-partum, they are completely flabbergasted? Six weeks?!

Apparently, around these parts (and maybe its a West Coast thing), women go on maternity leave 3-4 weeks before their due date. Why? What the hell am I going to do around the house all day other than watch Judge Judy and play don't-blink contests with Figaro? How boring! It would be nice to only be on a half-day schedule, because I start to get a little tired around 2:30, but nothing to run home about!

Also, women generally will take off 6 months to a year after the baby is born. I think that's nuts! Of the 13 moms in our childbirth classes, 1 was not returning to work at all (which is completely reasonable to me - though not my style), 1 is returning to work after a year, 8 are returning to work after 6 months, 1 after 3 months, 1 after 8 weeks and myself after 6 weeks. The rest of the class thought us two "short-timers" were completely nuts. How could we even imagine to manage that we would be able to return to work so quickly. Won't we miss the baby? Won't the baby still need us to be home with them?

After explaining (not that we needed to) that some of us need two paychecks to run a household, their scorn turned to pity that our poor husbands can't provide for us. Of course they didn't say as much, but you could see it on their faces.

I'm sick of these crazy people around here making me feel bad about my mothering before the baby even gets here! I don't think I'd take off more than 8 weeks even if I could! How boring (in my opinion) for me to be sitting around the house with no companionship other than a baby. I need the stimulation of adult conversation. I need work day lunch with my favorite coworkers. I actually love my job and will miss it while I'm on leave (though, I won't miss the actual working part of it). I am blessed in that Baby K's daycare is about 150 yards from my office, so I can go and see, cuddle, snuggle, spy on, breastfeed, kiss, and hug my little one whenever I please.

But sheesh! Give me a break! Sorry, just had to vent about that. Meanwhile, Purdue broke my heart (as expected) last night by losing. We always get sooooo close!

Relaxed and refreshed!

My husband is awesome. He sent me an email Thursday afternoon with the confirmation # and check-in/out times for an overnight stay in a very fancy hotel suite this weekend. When I called to ask him the reason for this romantic getaway, he told me that it was for me - by myself - because he thought I deserved the rest. And you know what? I did! I packed a very small bag with necessities only, a novel I've been meaning to start and my pregnancy scrapbook and headed out Saturday afternoon. The first thing I did was bolster myself on all 6 pillows on the bed and sleep for an hour. My hubby came by and took me out to dinner, then politely dropped me back off, took of my shoes for me, got me settled on the couch, and went back home to hang with Figaro for the rest of the night. I spent my hours sleeping, reading, cutting/pasting and watching the NCAA tourny. It was bliss and I am blessed to have a guy like that.

Today, its back to real life. Back to work. No more room service. No more maid service. No more made-to-order breakfast (made by someone else). But, I feel rested and renewed and am ready to tackle the week!

So, what have you done to honor yourself, or how have you been honored by a loved one lately?

Oh! You would never guess, but I absolutely lurve wrestling. Not WWF wrestling, the real deal greco-roman wrestling. Fell in with it in highschool when my cheering activities required attendance at matches and never got over it. I happened to catch the final match of the NCAA wrestling tourny on Saturday and watched a brutha from NC State take the 149lb title. It was a history-making moment and I was proud to have witnessed it.

When it's time to take a stand...

Man, I haven't written in quite awhile!

I had a huge project at work and it has consumed all of my time! Now it's over (and turned out to be quite an amazing piece of handywork, if I must say so myself) and my days are my own again. So, I have reclaimed my 15 minutes of blog time!

I know a woman. She always seems to be caught up in conflict. Most of this conflict has to do with her race and/or gender. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't. But, I never judge because who am I to say what personal impact one's statements or actions may have on another. Right?

Well, she's trapped in another mess. This time, she's innocent. She tried to stay away from trouble and trouble came and found her anyway.

She has asked me to stand with her as she fights back. I am embarrassed to say that I am a bit torn. I don't want to be lumped in the same "troublemaker" category that she is in. I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with others because of their impressions of her. I don't want to risk being alienated as she has been for the last several years. I also don't want to live a sister hanging out to dry at no fault of her own.

So, I have to do some soul-searching. As much as I want to be there for her "in spirit" and otherwise stay out of it, she is pushing me to step up or shut up. I'm just not sure I can rise to the occassion...

Lent

I was reminded after reading Nilsa's recent post at Somi that I didn't post what I (finally) decided to do about Lent. Lent has been a hard decision for the last 5 years or so. Going on Atkin's all but diminished the need to give up Dr. Pepper (my former favorite addiction) or sweet stuff. So, I had gotten creative - giving up procrastination one year (I'm happy to say that is a sacrifice that was so beneficial, I adopted it in my everyday life after Lent).

Well, this year, with the baby on board, it was even more difficult for me to decide. I'm not craving sweets - mostly pasta and fruit. I'm not drinking anything carbonated other than the occasional caffeine-free rootbeer. I'm still getting in my daily exercise and devoting more time in my day to prayer and meditiation. So, what's a girl to do?

Well I finally decided - at the very last moment - to commit to practicing my labor pain management exercises and kegels every day. It may seem minisule, but its something that I haven't been really making time for more than once or twice a week and I really need to do better about getting my practice in so that I can be well-prepared. I want this labor to go as smoothly as possible, and these exercises are about the only thing I can do to add to that aim.

What have you chosen as your Lenten sacrifice?