The waiting game
It’s well over a month since we returned from Hawaii now. We haven’t moved too far in that time, except for a trip to Tahoe at the beginning of March. I really wanted Jon to have a chance to ski (it’s been too risky for me to do that for a while now), so when we heard that a group was going up one weekend, we decided to join them. This time, we went to the north shore of Lake Tahoe, which I’d never visited before. It was about the same distance and took the same sort of time to get there as South Lake Tahoe, but involves travelling a different road from Sacramento. One of Jon’s colleagues had booked a three-storey condo right on the lakeshore for the weekend. It slept 10 in 5 bedrooms and was truly amazing. The lounge looked right out on to the lake and you could walk straight out of it through the snow to the water’s edge.
On each day, Jon and the others went off to the Northstar resort to ski, while I took it easy back at the house. I also went on a walk into the village and took some photos. The weather was glorious – it may have been -5 C most of the time, but because it was so dry and sunny, it didn’t feel that cold. I managed to amuse myself pretty well the first day, but by the second day, I was feeling a bit bored on my own.
Since then, we’ve mainly been at home on the weekends, making the odd reconnaissance trip to Babies R Us (there are stores in three directions – one over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin, one in Emeryville in the East Bay and one just south of the city in Colma!), going on smallish hikes and just doing general chores. Jon has been extremely busy at work, which has put him behind with maths and guitar practice (!), so he’s been doing that at the weekends too. During the week, we’ve had pre-natal classes too. We had 4 x 3-hour evening sessions in March. The first two were about childbirth (extremely scary!) and the second two were about looking after the baby in the first few weeks/months. I seem to have put my head back in the sand once more after the childbirth ones, since I’m not feeling particularly afraid. Placing my hopes in the powers of the epidural!
The really good weather took a long time to come this year, but we’ve just had two truly beautiful weekends. Last Sunday, we had a picnic on Mount Tamalpais in Marin. The views from there down the steep but rolling hillsides to the ocean are stupendous. Today has been really warm (people were in the pool, but I didn’t quite feel like braving it, since the apartments are north-facing and the pool is in shadow until later in the Spring). We went for a gentle jog and walk along Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge this morning. I’m delighted that I can still jog about 2 miles in spite of weighing 157 lb! It’s a great start to the day, and something we’ll also be able to do with baby when she’s here.
Other than that, it’s really a waiting game now (waiting for baby’s arrival, that is). Obviously, I’m still going to work, but outside work, my mind is on little else, day in, day out, which is a little strange. I’m gradually getting my stuff together for the hospital stay and last week Jon purchased the stroller and car seat. I see the obstetrician every two weeks, but after next time it’ll be every week until the big day. Last time he told me he thought the baby was in the right position (head-down), which is a relief, although she can still flip over the other way! I’m still feeling well, but do get backaches and am finally starting to feel the fatigue inherent in carrying around that extra 20 lb or so.
