Craig's OTHER List: November 2021

Two trimesters down, one to go.

You know back in June when we discovered we were finally pregnant, it all seemed so far away and we we would be semi-prepared when everything started getting "real". Well, we are...in a sense. Though, one can't help but feel sorely unprepared because you have made another human who will be arriving when it's cooking time reaches the pinnacle in mid-February. We aren't freaking out, but the constant reminders of what will soon be coming makes you take a step back and try to comprehend the gravity of it all.

Seriously, this was their graphic

We have an online registry for friends and family to peruse as they please and to help us out, the registry will send a weekly update as to what is taking place inside the womb and how your baby is evolving. This past week we were alerted that our child will be arriving in roughly 98 days and baby is starting to develop regular sleep and wake patterns (It might feel like they’re always active while you’re sleeping!). And our little one is also building up important immunities to protect against the outside world after birth.

Oh...and that our forthcoming offspring is about the size of a VHS tape case....hmmm....okay. Our joke was that the newsletter was aware that I'm older than L and they needed to come up with an object they thought I would better understand. Not weird at all. Though, I rue the day I'm forced to watch The Little Mermaid (released in 1989). Some adult "cough medicine" may need to be involved.

For L, she is struggling to keep from attempting everything on her personal to-do list. Her body, of course, is not allowing her to be the superwoman she is and she isn't happy about it. This is where I remind her that the situation is temporary and the simple fact that I exist - so I can do the things she feels she has to do. And, these pleas are regularly ignored. Not frustrating, at all, for either one of us.

She, still though, has been quite active and since running has become an uncomfortable experience, a walking routine has entered the picture. Understandable, but she misses running. In September, and three months pregnant, she bested 160 competitors at the Kilbourne 5K. She then beat 229 other women - and 305 people total - at the Holland Haven Half Marathon in Holland, Michigan. So she isn't a push over, just pregnant. I don't know what that feels like, nor do I want to, but I can't imagine not being able to go for a run as well as being a human incubator.

Our last Michigan photo as two

Speaking of that tiny person, when we returned from the trip to Holland & Grand Haven, Michigan we discovered we would be HAVING A BOY! And that boy's name will be Russell. The name has no other significance other than we like it, though it is appropriate that probably my favorite movie series are the National Lampoon Vacation films and Chevy Chase's son in those films is named "Russ".

Our last night in Michigan, and hanging out on the pier in Grand Haven, we watched the sunset. As we were leaving and before the sun disappeared, L started to cry, but they were happy tears. It was the realization that this would be the last vacation, to our favorite place, as two.

If there was ever something that could have knocked me down regarding the enormity of reproducing, that was it. The wondering, thinking, imagining and scaring the bejesus out of myself has been non-stop and cranked up to a thousand since.

The process of gathering and preparing for Russell has taken over as we also work around the upcoming holidays. I am still running, much to L's chagrin, though as it begins to get colder, I'm sure she isn't going to complain too much. She did have to return to her former self as a race spectator as I took part in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Half Marathon in October and the both of us are entering the Grove City Thanksgiving Wattle 5k at the end of the month, though she plans on walking it with a variety of others.

A mid-November blast of winter took place a Sunday when we decided to run/walk at Prairie Oaks Metro Park. A nice snow fall made the venture quite peaceful as we scared up a number of slumbering deer. The snow didn't last long, but it was a little reminder of what we can also expect in the weeks & months ahead.

As for Russell's arrival, there has been plenty of advice from co-workers as two of them have had new arrivals within the last four months, but at the moment I think we need to prepare our cats for the loud and sometimes smelly bundle of joy. Plastic bags scare the crap out of them now, I can't imagine how they would react to what amounts to a smoke alarm with an inadequate off button.

Soon, I will start making the beer to signify the arrival of the third human member of our family. I created the label over the summer using a photo I took from one of our many trips to that state up north. There will be plenty of time to work on it as I take some time off in December. This is a yearly break for me as I use the time to celebrate my birthday as well as Christmas and spend time with family we don't get to see much of during the rest of the year. I guess it will also be one last time to reflect and ready ourselves for the stretch run of the pregnancy without work interruption.

It is all coming together, being molded I guess you could say, for the shape of things to come...

The Shape of Things to Come - The Grip Weeds

There's a new sun

Risin' up angry in the sky

And there's a new voice

Sayin' "we're not afraid to die"

Let the old world make believe

It's blind and deaf and dumb

But nothing can change the shape of things to come

There are changes

Lyin' ahead in every road

And there are new thoughts