New Life

I was telling Jon the other day that I don't think I've ever appreciated the arrival of Spring more than I do this year. Part of it is spending a winter cooped up with a little man with no place to run, but even more than that, my firsthand experience with nurturing a new little life arriving this spring. Watching the robins gather twigs for their nests becomes even more significant while folding itsy, bitsy baby clothes and blankets. Seeing the squirrels out gathering acorns while watching my own little pantry grow and groan under the fruits of my "stockpiling for baby weeks" shopping. Watching green shoots appear through the dirt and having my son point out the blooms on the bushes, has really helped me to understand the wonder and beauty of bringing forth new life. The arrival of spring this year has reminded me of the blessing it is to be a woman and the honor I have of bearing a little life. The recent sunshine and gorgeous weather has only heightened my excitement over new Baby's arrival. I can't wait to watch him grow with the rest of the world!

In addition to our soon-to-be-born son, we also shared Easter with my in-laws and Jon's grandparents, who were driving up from Florida. I was so excited to have guests in for Easter since we knew we couldn't make any travel plans ourselves. We didn't know if any of our family would want to come see us if they knew they'd be returning soon to meet the new guy, but I'm so glad they did because this weekend was an excellent distraction in the "waiting game." We had a blast!


We hung out on the beach, took a trip to the local botanical gardens, had dinner on the bay, noticed how much Jack has grown since his last ride in the bike seat (I wasn't able to join that excursion, but I did manage to take advantage of an hour by myself and gave the flower bed a desperately needed weeding), and just spent time together catching up the past few months. Thanks to the abundance of good food and fellowship, I also managed to put on a whole pound over the weekend, and everyone agrees I'm looking a bit larger these days.

It's also been nice to pull out a few of my summer maternity clothes again. One thing I've noticed about being pregnant over the winter is that a lot of people just can't tell there's a baby growing under all those layers. I waved hello to my neighbor across the street today while we were both weeding and she said, "Janine, are you pregnant?!" (I tell myself she only asked to be polite, not because she couldn't tell.) And I thought to myself, "For heaven's sake, if I hadn't happened to walk out my door this afternoon wouldn't Wendy have been surprised to see me carrying around a newborn this summer!" It is good to be out of hibernation! And so, although I'm still partial to Fall babies, I'm really enjoying these last few weeks of anticipation, along with the rest of the world, as we watch nature come into bloom and new life arrive on a daily basis. Happy Easter!