Blue Skies

One of the things I find remarkable about Alabama is how blue the sky is, and how often. Having come from Rochester, one of the cloudiest cities in the U.S., it's refreshing to look up and see blue sky year round -- even if it's March and it's already 80 degrees and humid.

In the last week, flowers have been in bloom and that spring feeling is all around. Kids are playing outside in the evenings, thanks to our early clock change, and even I feel more energized when I get home from work at 5 o'clock. I know I've said it before, but I'm glad our baby will be born in the spring, that I can anticipate its birth in the one season I truly enjoy living in the South.

What I anticipate even more is the next phase, moving forward. Pregnancy is ultimately about patience and waiting. So much is unknown in the great mystery of it all, and so much happens within a pregnant woman's body that she has no control over. Last night, my dad told me how excited he is to meet this little one, and how great and rewarding a task parenting is. One thing he has taught me is that, ultimately, being transparent is the best way to parent -- admit your faults, be honest, don't give up.

In the waiting of pregnancy, I sometimes wonder what I've gotten myself into. But I believe that staying in the moment, even if anticipating the next, is where growth can occur (and I don't just me an ever-expanding belly). It doesn't matter what we're waiting for, it's always for something. To wait means to be still, try to find contentment in current circumstances, and admit that I have no control. And I don't.

I am just thankful that coupled with my period of waiting is anticipation and hope for things ahead.