How I know I'm officially in my 9th month...

Yesterday, we brought Sofia to the park and they had one of those kids' play areas set up. The ones that parents can't even fit into, with slides and balls and mats and whatnot. Well, wouldn't ya know it, I cried like a baby as we watched her make her way through the maze from the outside. And I've never been one of those moms who mourns the passing months - I love watching Sofia grow up. But...the Hormones have Got me.

Underwear and leggings: the time has come for me to decide whether to just let them roll up under my belly or spend all day pulling them up and over it.

There is no longer any graceful way to get out of bed in the morning (or off a chair, or up stairs).

Sleep is for sissies: guess which mom-to-be is now finding it impossible to sleep between the hours of 2am and 4am. Just so happens that's also scientifically when our best mammal milk production is. Coincidence? I think not.

While people have been so (very) kind as to assure me that I only look different in my stomach, I can see The Change has already started on my face. I remember our pre-birth coach with Sofia telling us that you can always tell if a mom's ready to burst or not by seeing if her face has changed. I am definitely on my way, judging from my expanding nose. As if it needed to get any wider!

I have precisely one week of work left before maternity leave starts. And all I am dreaming of is getting this house in order once and for all. I know from experience that it takes a whole lot of energy to get past the dreaming stage and into the actual thick of it, though.

Chocolate tartufo gelato. That's all I'm dreaming of, same as in my last month with Sofia. That and wishing it was sandals weather - my shoes (and socks even) are starting to cramp my style.

My final (or at least I believe so) Dr. visit. Today, at 5pm.

I am so lucky.

All that we behold is full of blessings.
William Wordsworth

If I had a dime for every time I turned to my facebook page and felt the urge to write "I am so lucky." as my status update.... I always hold myself back, though, wanting to avoid the sentimental. Or maybe it's because it's something I want to keep to myself, letting it be special in the voice inside my head.

But I can't hide it any longer: I am so lucky. Yes, life can be so hard, and it's about to get a whole hell of a lot harder, but it is also filled with lightness and air and sparkle.

There are so many reasons for my luck - most of them are the people I've been lucky enough to connect with through my 37 years on this earth. I've been let down in my life, yes, but few enough times that the bad don't in any way outnumber the good.

Luck. Fortune. Good chance. Whatever you call it, I have been blessed enough to receive it. And I only hope I am able to pay it forward to all the people in my life who have helped it be so.