Home Stretch

Ahhhh, the home stretch. I'm finally here. I'm officially on maternity leave. I just had to do it.

I'm 37 weeks tomorrow and hoping to get to the OB's office for my appointment and to schedule an induction (maybe for some time next week?) tomorrow before the snowstorm hits.

I really am feeling well, in spite of the pressure, back pain, killer heartburn and other assorted ailments. Mr. Colby is giving me a blessed week or two of very good sleep. The little man has decided, finally, he likes to be in his own crib all night! Mysteriously, he has woken up at 6:36 a.m. the last three days. Have you other moms experienced that deja vu? Each of my kids have gone through their own strange periods of waking at the EXACT time each day. How does that happen??

Anyway. I am on my way to the finish line here. My feelings are mixed in that I so love pregnancy, newborns and those early days and weeks of life. And this is it. This really is the final babe.

But I continually strive to keep my eyes, mind and heart wide open. I'm cataloguing moments. I'm achingly aware that this time of my life, with all its work, repetition and sheer exhaustion, might well be the time I will miss most as I age and as my children grow.

I am in the home stretch of my childbearing days. I am finishing chapters and beginning new ones.

My sincere thanks to Kristin Pottmeyer for helping me to preserve this time with the most gorgeous images I could have imagined. There are more to come, more family photos with the final, precious branch to be taken.

And I am ever sure that "these are my reasons."