One of those weeks

The sun beat down on my face, and I could feel my nose starting to burn. I was hungry, tired of standing around, and bored to tears. I had been feeling ridiculously grateful that I hadn't seemed to contract the swollen ankles and achy back and other unpleasant symptoms of mid-third trimester pregnancy I kept reading about, but now I wished I had an excuse to get back on the bus.

My office was on our mandatory semi-annual staff ride, which strongly resembled a grade school field trip, but with fewer bathroom stops, no snacks, and way less fun. This one involved an all-day tour of the Chancellorsville battlefield, complete with overly enthusiastic (and long-winded) guide and a whole lot of time on the bus.

I survived, eventually, but it was painful. I was not having a good Army week. On Monday, thanks to an argument at the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, I had been forced- after months of avoiding it- to wear this ridiculous garment. The Army's answer to "professional" maternity wear is anything but, and it was tough to mask my indignance at the all-too-visible insult.

It was probably just one of those weeks. I hadn't hit the "I'm so uncomfortable I'm ready to have this baby" stage of pregnancy yet, but it was definitely becoming more of an effort to do things. I usually raced through the commissary, grabbing groceries on a quick lunch break. This week I dreaded it, and eventually sort of lumbered through the aisles, figuring anything I missed I could just get next time.

I hadn't seen much of Seth, either, since he spent the weekend in Nebraska and got in late Sunday night. He has evening classes Mon-Wed and works on homework until late, so between my week of long days and his playing catch-up, we were pretty much passing off the house keys. I think we're working on getting down his school routine, though- he's definitely busy, if the absence of wet fishing gear in the driveway is any indication.

It did sound like he had had nice weekend in Nebraska with Jayne and Tony and his Grandpa, a trip he'd been meaning to make for awhile. I felt bad that we had waited until I was too far along to fly, but was glad they had gotten to spend time hanging out together and seeing family. In sad news, however, our weekend of amazing football luck didn't hold, and all of our teams lost this weekend. Some badly.

I stayed home on my own, and instead of watching the football carnage had a nice weekend catching up on sleep and errands, and hiking with girlfriends. Michelle and I had a long-overdue dinner date, and I finally got the baby laundry done and sorted (a monumental task of which I was inordinately proud.) This coming weekend, it's Seth's turn to install car seats while I head down to NC for a baby shower. 

...anndddd just when I was feeling a little sorry for myself, Seth came home with chocolate and we found a few minutes to hang out on the couch. We all have those weeks. They're not so bad when you tackle them with your best friend.

This week marks another big milestone- Dad's 60th! He and Mom spent it hiking. Of course. Seth and I are looking forward to celebrating with them over smoked meat (we got him a smoker we hope he likes!), but in the meantime, we all wished Dad a video HBD.