marriage scene

setting: jones home, 9:40 p.m. by lamplight, mr. jones is cutting some excess athletic tape holding one of the missus's medical devices onto her unreachable back. both characters are obviously fatigued -- the wife from a day of being enormously pregnant, the husband from a day of lectures, labs (which frequently involve weird procedures on rats) and bus-ride commuting. the process is slow-going, and the mister has intense concentration wielding nose hair trimmers closer to his wife's skin than she is comfortable.

missus: be careful. you're going to snip me.

mister: i'm not going to snip you.

missus: well, could you watch it? you're taking a long time and making me nervous.

(period of silence)

missus: (obviously getting increasingly exhausted) seriously, be careful!

mister: honey, i am not going to snip you. PLEASE, (making grandiose gesture with both arms) these hands have removed rat uteruses.

(hysterical laughter ensues.)

end scene.

wishing and hoping

at a recent appointment, my doctor told me i only have to make it three more weeks before the baby is considered full term. since they are worried she will get too big with my diabetes, it sounds like they won't be letting her stay in there much past that. weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests are doing all the hard work to configure that business.

on my end, i have decided i am officially done photographing my pregnant self after taking this dandy photo.

not seen in this photo: aching back, enormously swollen feet and ankles, general discomfort, lack of sleep, and constant angst about little one growing too big/breathing right/coming out too early/staying in too long/terror of delivery. but i know that she is the answer to so many of our prayers, and i feel so at peace about everything -- and i know that is the answer to so many of your prayers. thank you for that.

i hope next time you see my face it will be glowing with the excitement of the safe arrival of little one (aka the only thing getting cuter in this pregnancy).

some resolutions

with the impending arrival of the little one, i have spent a good deal of time pondering what kind of mother/wife/homemaker (i used to hate that word, but now i kind of like the idea of "making" home) i will be.

during my ten-day break from work, i have had some time to try on different roles.

after learning that the little one is getting big ahead of schedule (something the doctors had kept telling me would happen but i kept pretending might not happen), i frantically set into "nesting" mode. as the husband and i cleaned out space for the baby's dresser and frantically tried to do all necessary preparations (geez louise, she's probably coming early, but it's not tomorrow), i felt like a question and answer segment out of the terribly cheesy what to expect when you're expecting.

after being disgustingly pampered with a luxurious christmas, wonderful baby shower, and pedicure (thanks, daddy!), i couldn't help but feel like one of those women who regularly takes the time to take care of herself.

as i spent most of yesterday on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor (why did i not do this before i was eight months pregnant?) i couldn't help but feel a closeness with those hardworking, under-appreciated women of the 1950s. barefoot and pregnant, i even made dinner.

as i embroidered a burp cloth while watching lost in austen (which really is as terrible and guilty a pleasure as you could imagine a story about a pride & prejudice fan having a door between her bathroom and the novel could be), i felt a sense of connection to the women doing their needlework.

and as i punched my husband in the arm for the 275th time this week for making a comment about how the baby is getting my tiny legs and huge belly, i felt like myself.

and you know what? this year i resolve to be myself more often. it's really a refreshing pace.

i also resolve to take more pictures.

happy 2010, everyone.