Vernal Equinox

It's been a nice week back in Bowling Green, as the sun has finally begun to make more of an appearance, and the weather's warming. The students on campus have come to life, doing more than hurrying along to class as they stop and play frisbee and sprawl out on grassy stretches (I just hope these weren't the students who were missing from my class last Thursday night!). Better yet, on my bike home for lunch the other day I passed a group playing beer pong out on their porch. It was 1:00 pm, the sun was out, why not? Class? What class?
I find it fitting that as everything begins to grow and come to life again, my belly (and babe!) is following suit. The kicks inside are no longer just flutters, but some serious pelts. One of my amusements of late is sitting and watching my bare stomach ripple. And as I've grown larger, people seem to be getting nicer and nicer. The other day at Home Depot as I carted around a load of mulch, I had about eight different employees stop and ask me if I needed help. As I made my way out to the car, two came running over to assist during the loading process. While I was kneeling down to get a jar of mayonnaise yesterday at the grocery store, a little girl appeared, muttered "I've just got to do this," and gave me a hug.
Josh and I have begun to attend classes that are supposed to prepare us for the birth. I was reminded again of how little space this babe's head and shoulders must squeeze through, and how my internal organs are continually adjusting for the expanding space that this babe requires (now the weight of a head of cabbage, or 3 lb.- whichever is easier to imagine). We worked on breathing exercises and the partners practiced pushing exercises, as they did not want the ladies spurring some early labor action.
Yesterday I went to join my friends Rachele and Scott and their now 4-month-old Mila who were picnicking at the park up the way. I received great instruction on how a Baby Bjorn works, what to check when the babe is unhappy, what different facial expressions might be indicating. It is a whole new language that I am anxious to figure out.