The Rapidly Approaching Due Date

We're officially in the homestretch! Tobbi comes home on April 8th, a month from today (AKA 4 weeks from Tuesday, AKA 31 days from now).

So far the whole process reminds me very much of having a baby, in that no matter how much preparation you do, no matter how much gear you buy and books you read and people you talk to, no matter how much you think you know or can imagine it will be like, when it finally actually happens and you look down and see that you are finally actually holding that little bundle (or 850-pound steed) in your arms, you realize that there's no way all the books and classes and websites in the world could have prepared you for the experience itself, that it will be far better and far harder and far different than you thought it would be, and that while most of the gear will come in handy, at the end of the day it's all about the love and who cares what you registered for or how many of your "what to expect" books you read (or not).

So we're basically in the last month of the last trimester. Which would explain the excruciating anticipation, the list-making, the last-minute internet shopping, and the time spent gazing at the calendar. My photos of him are like the ultrasound images I carried with me when I was pregnant with my daughters; I talk to them and whisper that I can't wait to bring him home. I design birth announcements in my mind when I'm supposed to be doing other things. I put on my breeches and boots and walk around the house just like I used to wash and fold and put away newborn clothes, imagining what it would be like when the dream comes true.