Day 1385: Thirty-three weeks and counting
Yes, I missed two weeks again. Life has been a bit madcap.
Check-in:
Spirituality! Has wavered, mostly because my routine has been shot, and I thrive on routines, and if I don't have my routines, everything gets lost. I am trying to do better, but...it was not so good. Also I slept through good portions of general conference this weekend, partially because so many of the speakers had slow, soothing old-man voices, but also because I think I worked up a nasty sleep deficit.
Fitness! Also not that great. My carpal tunnel is pretty bad, especially in my left wrist (this baffles me, as I am not a southpaw, though I tend to do most of my typing and driving with my left hand). I made a point to walk to places to get food, but I also ended up using the elevator a heck of a lot more at work.
Tidiness! Not that great, mostly in that I'm not useful for a lot in the tidying up and packing department. Good thing my former farm girl mother-in-law stayed with us for a week and helped out.
The Good:
I AM UNEMPLOYED! I realize for most people this would not be a good thing, but I am officially done with my job. There was a lot of crazy leading up to being done, but good things happened, like two awful trials being settled, and my coworkers throwing me a very nice goodbye party/baby shower, and plenty of people - bailiffs, caseworkers - stopping by to bid me farewell. I worked with amazing people for five years. I was in court on a crazy case right up till ten minutes before my last work day was over. I think I'm going to miss the energy and urgency of the work...sometimes. But probably not that much. My tolerance for hearing about horrible things that happen to children took a dive once I started growing a little human. Because I'm a writer with a vivid imagination, I could imagine all the horrible things happening to her. Kudos to all my colleagues who raise kids and to this kind of work.
I have had some awesome time with friends, though. Went to a concert with friends. Had nice dinners with friends and family. Had my mother-in-law in town to help my husband with the packing.
It's been a bit of a miracle, things falling into place for us so we can move - finding a place to live that will let us have our dogs but also a short lease because we plan on buying a house. Getting help cleaning. Getting insurance to tide us over till my husband starts his job. This move is going to be scary and complicated but we can make it work.
We have also had beautiful weather recently. Sure, there's been some rain and snow, but I feel like spring is finally here, and I am glad.
Also, a super awesome bakery opened up near the courthouse where I used to work, and I walked there a couple of times to get food, and it's so worth it. I cannot remember the last time good food made me (and baby) so happy. Mmmmmm, good pastries.
While I was down there on my lunch break one time, I ended up helping a poor lost woman who didn't speak English. Ironically, she was looking for the English learning school downtown. She greeted me with "Senora", which I knew would end badly, and she looked kinda betrayed that I don't speak Spanish, but I managed to help her anyway. I remember being a kid and lost in foreign countries sometimes, and someone who was willing to help despite a language barrier was always a godsend.
Also I helped a blind lady decide whether a blouse someone gave her as a gift looked nice. I'm not much of a fashionista, but it honestly looked good on her, so yay!
The Bad:
Work was so crazy. And this moving process is crazy. And it was stressful. Also, my husband needs to send in his dissertation for publication, which is the final hurdle between him and his diploma. Apparently the university publication office is insanely strict about dissertation format and is notorious for being nitpicky and rejecting manuscripts multiple times. But one of Cody's lab mates got his accepted a few weeks ago, so we asked for his and while Cody and his mom packed and cleaned, I kept the dogs corralled with me in the bedroom so they'd be out of the way, and I formatted his dissertation. (I don't need to understand high-level science to be able to format a document or fix commas.) It was rough. I'd work all day, come home, pack/format till midnight, and then start all over again.
There was one day where I was sleep-deprived and hungry and also experiencing the joy of Braxton Hicks and one attorney was trying to be all charming and funny and looked very disappointed that I wasn't smiling at his jokes and he was like, "What, you're not going to smile at that?" and I was like, "Dude. Eight months pregnant. Sleep-deprived. Hungry. In pain. Not smiling."
Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and wonder how it is humanly possible to be as big as I am and not be bursting. And I swear I just occasionally double in size out of the blue. If I'm sitting down, people can't tell I'm pregnant. When I stand up, I look like I'm trying to smuggle a beach ball under my shirt.
One night I had a total freak-out because I couldn't feel Baby Seedling kicking, but eventually she moved and we got the movement count we needed, so that was good. Wasn't a good night, though. I got barely three hours of sleep.
I've barely been able to write or work on other projects, which makes me super sad, but usually at the end of the day I'm too sore and tired to do much more than read (I've read some fun books, though, so that's nice).
Going to be moving to New York real soon. Possibly this weekend. Still haven't bought plane tickets. Still not 100% secure on a place to live once we get out there. How my parents managed to move from country to country with two kids in tow, I will never know.
Here goes!