Reality.

It was great visiting my parents. And the baby shower was really nice. I thought it was wonderful that they wanted to celebrate the baby, despite the fact that few of them have actually met me. My sister made me a Horton, which I will try to post pics of when the nursery is more together. He is fantastic! I also got some baby clothes, which made me realize that we are actually going to have to clothe the boy. Maybe I should work on that...

Right before I left, my mother wanted some belly shots. Unfortunately, she does not see very well, so many of the shots did not turn out really well. I sort of look like I am standing in front of a firing line. Not very pretty. Ah well. The things we do for our mothers.

I have my doubts that my parents will actually be moving down to Roanoke. They have a very nice life in Charlottesville, and they really seem to enjoy living there. The baby may trump a lot, though. I suspect if they do decide to move to Roanoke, it will likely be temporary. They may try to rent their house in Crozet for a couple of years, and move back after a while. Even if this happens, their move will not be exactly when the baby gets here. Fortunately, my mother is willing to come down and help us with the baby for a few weeks after the baby gets here. That should make life easier for a while.

What this all means is that I probably ought to start looking at child care arrangements for baby. Unfortunately, I have no clue as to what I will be doing after baby gets here, as I do not know if I want to return to my current job. (I am thinking I do not want to return.) I do not know if a new job will be full time or part time, and that could make a difference in child care arrangements. I guess I have some time, but I really do not like uncertainty. Drives me crazy.

My mother also mentioned that she wanted to do something about my keloids after the baby is born. I am a little frustrated with this. I have some fairly large keloids on my chest which I have had for years. At some point I decided that there was not a lot I could do about them, and I would just live with them. Anything I could do for them will not be covered by insurance, and may not do a lot of good anyway, because they are likely to grow back no matter what I do. I stopped seeing them and being bothered by them quite a while ago. Unfortunately, my mother and my grandmother are really bothered by them. Why, I do not know. As long as they are paying for the procedures and attempts at removal, I am fine. But it sort of annoys me that they are so bothered by what amounts to an overgrowth of scar tissue. Because that is all the keloids are. I guess I should not look a gift horse in the mouth, though.

I am beginning to feel like a small parade float. It is really obvious I am pregnant now. I have an obvious belly, and I waddle. Sometimes this is sort of neat. Other times, I just want to feel normal again. Someday...