And the Countdown Begins...

Recently Clint and I have begun to feel the imminence of this Big Change in our lives and the overwhelming amount of things that "need" to happen in the next month or so. In the midst of our all-consuming to-do list, however, we're also trying to soak up these last seven weeks of our family of two.

Step one? Enjoying the rain outside my window, lighting a candle, and sitting down to blog for the first time in months when I should be writing thank-you notes or finishing the crib bumper or figuring out how to promote this Andrew Peterson concert our church is hosting in a month (which all of you should come in town for, by the way).

For better or worse, this has become our new benchmark for making decisions - if in three months we'll wish we could sleep late, or eat out, or go shopping just because, then we better take full advantage of it now. (I feel like I need to come up with some creative name for these carpe diem moments, but pregnancy brain has drained my creative juices for the time being...suggestions?)

A few days ago, I let myself check off part of my to-do list at a coffee shop. It's been a while since I've unnecessarily gone to a coffee shop by myself on a dreary afternoon, ordered a pumpkin spice latte, and just played on the computer. I fully embraced the incredible kindness of the baristas and other patrons who felt pity on my growing midsection, and enjoyed not having to worry about an infant in a car seat next to me.

I also turned down a new tutoring prospect, something I haven't been very good at lately. I wear myself out to the point of just daydreaming about sitting at home, reading baby books and decorating a nursery, but as soon as a new student calls, the dollar signs start to flash in my head. This particular student would have paid really well, but especially after some encouragement from my other moms-with-young-kids friends, I've decided I'd rather spend my last month NOT any more exhausted and worn out than I have to be. It's hard to say no, but I'm already feeling the freedom of not having to be at a student's house at 7 am for the next month!

Yesterday morning I came home from the grocery exhausted, so instead of cleaning the stove or writing said thank-you notes or getting dinner ready, I sat down in the recliner in the nursery, started one of my nursing books, and took a 20-minute nap. Absolutely glorious. It just might become part of my new daily routine.

I'm hoping to have oh-so-many more of these moments to share in the next few weeks. Don't get me wrong - I couldn't be more excited about spending January in my pajamas in front of the fire snuggled up with the Little One, but we're also super grateful about the time we have left just the two of us. I want to enjoy each stage for what it is, and the stage we're in right now just happens to be the soak-up-every-minute-because-your-life-is-about-to-change-forever kind of stage, and we're determined to shun the stress and exhaustion and make it as fun as possible!