Life Lessons, part II

I've officially reached the stage in my pregnancy where friends and strangers alike no longer hesitate to ask me when I'm due. There seem to be no more awkward "is that a beer belly or a baby?" conversations.

The girls, of course, have known for a few months now, and have been carefully cataloging every change they observe in my body.

Mae is impressed by my cleavage. But then again, so am I. I can hardly believe it belongs to me. Bela really likes to feel the baby kick. Mae swears that as my belly gets bigger, my body gets smaller and my back does this cool "bending" thing she seems to like.

I'm starting to feel like a lab specimen though, constantly touched and stared at by these curious girls. There is nowhere I can go in my own home where I am safe from their ever-observant eyes. I enter my empty, darkened bedroom and peel a shirt off and by the time it comes off over my eyes Mae is peeking through the door. I close the bathroom door and step out of my pants to slip into the shower and I turn around and Bela is walking in.

Tonight after dinner and coloring we climbed on our couch and read a chapter in "These Happy Golden Years", part of the Little House series. After we finished, I sent them off to brush their teeth and for the 100th time today I tidied up their crafting table.

At the end of most days, I re-organize the scattered papers into three piles: paper with at least one clean side left (those go back in the bin); papers with drawings or depictions that were done half-heartedly, scratched out, crumpled up, or otherwise discarded by their creator (those get recycled); and paper that I want to label and file away in the girls' art box.

It's not unusual for me to get a good chuckle out of these gems that I keep. They say so much about where my kids are at this point in their lives: Mae seems to be obsessed with eyelashes, hair bows, and cats. Bela labors over lowercase letters and drawings of homes. But tonight....tonight's find tops them all.

Here it is in all its glory. I suppose this is a woman, not unlike myself, with a swelling midsection that bears no real relation to the relatively small-in-size child growing in her womb. Oh, and a healthy sprouting of pubic hair.

I think I'm going to install a lock on my bedroom door.