Here are some things.

CLASS THINGS

Only one week left to go, my pretties. Or one and a half weeks. My distance class is done (except that I haven't graded a damned thing from that class in about a month so I have piles of papers to grade and mail) and it's all almost over.

I love end of term. I love summer.

I'm teaching two speedy 5 week summer courses from May 30 to July 1. That should be a breeze, no? And one of those classes will be British Literature (which I'm teaching now and I LOVE) and we are going to read all the things I love and drink tea every afternoon and sometimes watch movies. Movies like Pride and Prejudic and A Room with a View. Very British Imperialist. Should be positively lovely. Bloody brilliant. I'm slightly worried that these classes won't make--only 4 people have signed up so far and I need 8. It would totally suck to lose that paycheck.

BABY THINGS

We went to the midwife last Friday for our first official appointment. I, apparently, have the perfect bone structure for birthing babies. Color me shocked. I knew these hips were good for somethin. We also heard our baby's heart beat (150 bpm) and I was more moved than I ever imagined. That was my baby. Who has a heart. Which beats. Holy motherfucking shit.

The midwife was v. v. nice and wonderful (there are four at this birthing center--we'll see all of them) and convinced us to have an ultrasound when we hit the 20 week mark. We were planning on skipping every unnecessary procedure, especially the ones that invade our baby's privacy (we are such hermity hermits after all, odds are the kid is too). I'm already all worked up that somehow someone in the ultrasound room will find out the sex of our baby and I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW. I mean, if I can't find out? Nobody gets to find out. That's my philosophy. And Jeff really really doesn't think we should find out. He wants us to experience this baby, not to experience pictures of the the baby and mystery of life and gender/identity issues blah de blah, etc. He's right. Of course he's right. I totally agree with him 100%.

But if the lab tech knows? I want to know! That's MY baby! Sigh. I will have to learn to live with the not-knowing which I have never been very graceful about.

SPEAKING OF JEFF THINGS

He is the best most super human alive.

MOVING THINGS

I think we've decided to move after the baby (or before? or during? or sometime around that area of time?) arrives. We live so far from either of our work places. I commute 500+ miles a week. Jeff often commutes over 600 miles a week. And in opposite directions. So. If we ever want to actually to see the kid, we have to move. We are maybe moving to W-S, NC. We found our perfect perfect house. Shabby and interesting and (relatively) cheap and in walking distance to downtown and parks and all the neighbors look weird and they are different colors (I am so damned sick of all the white country people) and yes, I am excited. I wish it could happen now, in fact. That's the real trouble with me and Jeff: we don't do well with future plans. We are absolutely fantastic at making plans, but the whole enacting plans thing becomes a bit of a problem. We are not deliberate people. The current situation (finish house, refinance house, sell house, find new house, purchase new house, move, have baby) calls for much deliberateness. Ugh. Children, I don't even have the deliberatness necessary to finish this entry.

Bye.