Evanston Experiences

I got back to Virginia at the beginning of the week after spending a few days back home with Mom and Dad. This trip definitely had it's interesting moments. It started on the second leg of my trip to the great Midwest. All of my planes were pretty small and the time that I was sitting my the window, I dropped my pen while doing my crossword puzzle. Please note that I was mostly frustrated because my planner is color coded and if I lost that pen, I would not be able to write in any of our general plans! I would have had to buy a whole new pack of pens just to get that color! I hoped, however, that as we landed, the pen would roll back towards me. It did! BUT, there was no way I could bend over to pick it up! I felt so stupid and helpless. There was a nice looking guy next to me so I asked him if he would mind picking it up and kicked it towards him. He was really nice and seemed like he wanted to ask if he could do anything else!

I got to use THREE "expectant mother" parking spots while home!!! I used them at Babies R Us, CVS, and Old Orchard! Woo hoo! It was quite exciting! I still feel guilty, like there are women "more pregnant" than me that should be using them. But, I'm pretty sure I qualify as expecting...

I find myself caught in a Catch 22: I was so anxious for it to be obvious that I'm pregnant, but apparently that means that I also will (unbeknownst to me) invite any and all comments! In the bathroom at a restaurant (Hackney's, for any North Shorers reading), I overheard a funny conversation between a mom and her two kids. I couldn't help laughing as I came out of the stall and she apologized. I told her not to worry about it, that I was just preparing. She had twins in the bathroom with her who were just over five and she told me she had two others younger than them! She went on to tell me how wonderful motherhood is and how much she enjoyed nursing. If I could, I really should give it a try because you can just take your boob anywhere! Now, mind you, this was in a bathroom the size of a large closet. Luckily, at that point other people were trying to go in so we had to leave... Not sure I'll talk about my boobs with strangers...

I've noticed people can't just ask when you are due. They feel compelled to say something else after that. At Trader Joes, the checker was doing so well! She asked when I was due and then said, "Don't let other people scare you." I thought that was actually helpful! Until she kept talking :( She went on to share a pretty detailed labor story that I really could have done without...