A Lesson in Gratitude

Why am I so bad at posting? Who knows. I wrote this out a while ago, so I apologize if you already know this story...

So, I'm sure I have a perfectly good reason for not having the Brazil pictures up yet... I think it has something to do with being pregnant and busy with work and maybe a little laziness. Anyway, I'm interrupting this whole catching up on stuff I should have blogged 6 months ago series for some more recent thoughts.

A couple of weeks ago, Nick and I took the week off work. That means Nick didn't get paid for a week, and that's one more week of maternity leave I won't be paid for. We needed to stay home and work on the house and baby stuff (I'm still looking for a pediatrician* and doula), but instead we drove 12 hours out to Tennessee to visit my step-sister and nieces. It had been over 3 years since the last time I went out, and they had been begging for me to visit.

So, the Monday after Father's day, we loaded up the car and headed out. I felt a lot of guilt for not leaving on Saturday or Sunday, but I hadn't done any laundry or packing and I was just exhausted from the work week. The guilt stemmed a good deal from the several phone calls I received from my sister during the weekend and into Monday during the drive. The drive actually went pretty well and we arrived in one piece. I was worried about being in the car for so long with the pregnancy, but the baby just curled up on my left side and stayed off my bladder, so I didn't have too much back pain or urgent potty breaks. :)

Let me just say, it was a long week. It was over a hundred degrees, the doors and windows were left wide open, there were bugs, like roaches, ants, flies, spiders, mosquitoes and fleas - EVERYWHERE. My sister and her husband smoke like chimneys, and there was hardly any getting away from it, and I didn't see a real vegetable the entire time. We hardly ever left the trailer unless it was to go to the firework store 2-3 times per day to enter the drawing for free fireworks. Nick and I really wanted to go into Nashville and do some vacationy stuff, but we were given a guilt trip every time and told they didn't know how to get there (Downtown Nashville's about 15 minutes away). Honestly, by the end, I just wanted to get into my car to have A/C and get away from bugs. Hello pregnant lady! Needless to say, I didn't take any photos this time around...

When we finally got home and walked into our house, it felt so... big. So clean. I have never been so grateful to be home.

P.S. I know some people are asking for belly pics - yes, we've been taking some (although there's no consistency), and I'll eventually get them posted....

*I've found a pediatrician!