deep thoughts, by pregnant woman

dear james william/claire covington,

don't you want to come out now? 'cause i want you to come out. so does your dad. i know you're supposed to be in there just a little longer, but i'm ready to hold you (on the outside). and i'm not going to lie to you: the fact that i'm bored and a little uncomfortable are playing into this as well.

love,
mom

Pregnancy Comments: Vote for Your Least Favorite!

So, which of these three is the most annoying?

• "You haven't had the baby yet?!" and/or "You haven't popped yet?" Um, no, I haven't. That much is obvious. Plus, I just hit the two weeks before ETA yesterday. To have had it before then would have been a statistical anomaly (95% of women birth between 38 and 42 weeks). But when I do, I imagine that the verb "popping" will not come all that much into play.
• "You're going to go late." Why would anyone say that? They don't know. Granted, I don't either. But to say it when there's no way of knowing is just mean.
• "You're so big/fat/huge!" Well, one day I will have the baby and won't be fat anymore. But you'll still be rude and insensitive.

I'm also not a fan of "How are you feeling?" but think that the question is most of the time very well-intentioned, unlike some of the above statements.

Favorite comment, even if it's a lie: some variation of "You look great!" or "You're doing great!"

Bring a dish/appetizer/dessert to share.

In normal time, I don't really mind this request. However, I find it really annoying this time of year, simply because I just can't keep up. I've skipped a few things simply because I don't have the energy to come up with anything to bring, let alone make it. There are or will be seven events in 2.5 weeks that fall into this category. Two thoughts about the two that are left:

1. Ghiradelli (I can't spell) brownie mix
2. Various wonderings about if it's possible to somehow use the Annual Christmas Deluge of Parishioner Foodstuffs in this capacity without too many ramifications.

Pictured is the Mr's Sour Cream Pound Cake... Yum!
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Book #51: The First Christmas, Borg and Crossman. It's pretty good. I read it and realized how little I know about Roman history and mythology (or, rather, how much they know). Also helpful for Advent 4/Annuniciation sermons, First Sunday after Christmas sermons (chapter on archetype on light and darkness), and Second Sunday after Christmas sermons (massacre and/or magi).

I have a draft of The Christmas Eve sermon. It's a little wordy, but now I have something to revise, which is infinitely easier than pulling something out of my brain in the first place.

Book #52: The Audacity of Hope, Obama. He definitely wrote this; he writes just how he talks. I enjoyed reading it. It was sitting in my in-laws' living room over Thanksgiving, and I was pretty sure they weren't actually reading it but just had it out for show. I borrowed it, in partial passive aggressive retailiation for this incident. My suspicisons have been confirmed; they would be asking about it if they missed it.

Book #53: The Wonder Years. AAP's thoughts of different facets of childhood development.

I'm now reading Birthing from Within.
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I feel better, mainly due to readjusted expectations. I'm now wearing this wildly attractive item, whose usefulness outweighs its annoyingness, much to my dismay. Don't be jealous. The way this model is... modeling this reminds me of the guy in my high school ballet class who accidentally wore his dance belt (think ballet jock strap) over instead of under his tights.