To-Do

I had macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight. While watching TV. (I could explain my collegiate behavior by saying Michael is out of town and I just didn't have the energy to do eat like an adult, but if I was honest, I would readily admit that this is exactly what I wanted. My only regret is choosing water over chocolate milk). To my happy surprise, I found that I didn't need to prop my dinner plate (see, at least I used one and didn't eat directly out of the saucepan. Until later...). I didn't need a tray or a pillow to bring it closer to my face. Not because I'm any less of a mess when it comes to eating - and thank you, Dad, for buying us the Splat Mat- but because I found that I could use my belly as a tray. For the first time, I have grown out enough to be a ledge.

Everywhere I went today I got comments that I had grown. Like, overnight. Some say I'm carrying lower; some say I'm still high ("but then again you have nowhere it to go, you're so short!") but whatever their opinions on location of the real estate, there were wide eyes, nods, and "um, yeah, you're, um, yeah." At the home of one of my favorite patients, a 7-year-old-going-on-40 who is notorious for telling the truth, this little friend of mine looked at me and said very seriously, "well, you look like you're just about ready. To have your baby, I mean," he clarified.

No clarification needed, my friend. We are 5 weeks away and it is occuring to me that among household organization tasks, perhaps my to-do list should be expanding to things that embrace my pregnancy. Because along with the aches and side effects, comes many advantages and joys to carrying a 6-pound bun in the oven. My to-do list shall include, and not be limited to, the following:

--Eating more meals with my belly serving as a table. That was fun. And surprisingly stable.
--Riding a bus, a crowded bus, just to have someone give me their seat.
--Walking barefoot. What is it about being barefoot and pregnant? I honestly don't know but would like to investigate. But not in my own yard; we have voles that Michael has been mowing over (think 0.7 acres of sod hiding little grey rodents that have met their fate to the blades of the lawn mower). No thank you, I think I will hit the beach.
--Get a pregnancy massage. This one will be checked off my list on Saturday, thanks to my best friend Mollie who gave me an Aveda gift card for just this reason. I am wondering, however, if Zach, the massage therapist scheduled for me, will be helping me up on that table or if there will be a step-stool. Please pray for a step-stool.
--Eat pickles and ice cream at the same time.
--Read more books, play more music for the Boy in the Belly.
If any readers have any other suggestions as to how to embrace the final days of pregnancy, I'd love to hear 'em!

I was just telling Michael the other day that while I'm super-excited for the big day, I'm okay being pregnant a while longer. I'm not ready to be done, not just yet. Check back in a week or two, I will likely have a different take on things. In the meantime, I'm taking off my shoes and plodding around barefoot, in someone else's yard.