Yesterday kicked my ass. By 8 pm my body felt like it had completely disintegrated. I'm hoping it gets better, easier. To that end: I brought in a foot stool and lots of watermelon, which I hear helps with the swelling. I've eaten 2/3 of a watermelon since 8 pm last night and it hasn't really done much for me, but still I hope. Plus, it tastes rilly rilly good.

I also have poison ivy everywhere and it's all Basho's fault. (There was a whole he-had-to-poop-but-was-on-the-leash-and-it-was-too-fucking-hot-to-walk-so-he-tangled-with-the-poison-ivy-patch-and-I-had-to-retrieve-his-tangled-leash thing. Jerk.)

When I roll over at night I hear things crack that never did crack before. And my legs ache all the time, just like they did when I grew 10 inches in one year.

The baby is swimming up and down and all over. I didn't know it would feel like this. I didn't know I would feel so much like a parent already. I feel like a momma kangaroo, with my pouch. I didn't know I would feel such affection for this creature, who already seems so separate from me. I'll miss this, I know. But also? I can't wait to be able to do all the physical things that I can't do now (like roll over or get out of bed or type for more than ten minutes at a time. Sheesh)

It's still a ways off. Starting work has made it feel closer. I keep think of The Fall as The Baby Time and now I've started my fall semester and must actually actively plan for this kid to enter the world and we've almost paid off the midwives and Jeff's almost done with work and so...I fell all anticipatory. I suppose being pregnant is all about anticipation, but today I feel it even more.

But really I should get a move on with my classes. I'm teaching two new classes which feels like a lot. One of them (the doofusy sounding, Human Values and Meaning) looks like a total pass. All we seem to do is watch movies and discuss them. Rocking. I'm totally down with the movie watching.

The new teacher next door is very nice. She's actually been here for five years, just at a different campus. Now she is here and she and I talked about kittens (she's had the summer of the kitten, too) and chickens and pigs and gardening. She's a hippie, godblessher. And a total scatterbrain. I already feel better about this place.

Now I have to get up and walk around and do the hokie pokie or whatever I can to make my fingers more finger-sized again. Watermelon shwatermelon.