Home stretch...

Yes, I had every intention of catching up on blog posts once and for all. Then my third trimester hit. Hard. Yep, "hard" has kind of been the theme of this pregnancy. I honestly amaze myself by surviving stressful/exhausting/exasperating episodes most days, both on my body and nerves. Certainly I could not be surviving without help of both seen and unseen sources.

To complicate matters, with six weeks to go, I am now officially nesting! This is good. This means the end is near....er than it has been. However, in my B.C. years (before Charlie), I actually had the physical and emotional energy to accomplish the tasks on my nesting list.

This time around, it's a longer list than ever, not to mention my daily responsibilities are greater and more hectic than ever. And yet, it remains rather draining to tackle a single item on my list. No, it should not be asking too much for me to organize a closet and wash the dishes all in one day. And it is. My anemia, that was for several weeks quite debilitating, is more or less under control, for which I am quite thankful, because "bed rest" is not in the least restful if children are carving paths of destruction all around me. I just feel like I have so little left to give after simply keeping my children alive and delivered to school and activities sort-of on time.

This all contributes to a surmounting anticipation for this little one (who we call Amelia) to arrive. True, I would love to have my bedroom finally decorated and stacks of important paperwork organized and filed away before her arrival usurps these and many other projects in priority. Still, I can't say I wouldn't welcome her any old day she might choose to come.

This blog post has inadvertently become an exception, but I do try in general not to complain excessively about pregnancy. It is a tremendous blessing. I also realize that the discomforts and burdens I feel will only translate into a greater fondness for and commitment to this little babe for whom I have already sacrificed much.

We are all so very excited for her grand debut. Ellie is baby-crazy as ever, Erik always hugs her goodbye before preschool and even asked for Amelia for Christmas, and Kyle confesses he feels greater happy anticipation for a baby than he's ever felt before. Of course, no one can hold stronger feelings for her than me. She is never absent from my consciousness and sentiments for an instant. A life that is literally shared with mine cannot be separated from my deepest emotions.

We all love you, sweet baby girl. Come soon, Amelia dear. Not too very soon, but just soon enough.