yay for not walking like John Wayne

I had my final pregnancy-related doctor's appointment this morning and I don't know if I've ever expounded on this particular topic on this here blog, but I love my doctor and her staff oh so much.  I would actually almost look forward to going to the doctor and I would actually almost be sad that I won't see all those folks again until October.  Except for, ya know, stirrups and such.  Kinda puts a damper on seeing my buddies there when I have to disrobe.

I think the real reason they have you return to the doctor in 6 weeks is to help you remember that having a newborn and all of its attending difficulties is still way better than being pregnant.  They even had me come on a Thursday which is the day my doc sees all her OB patients, so as far as I could tell, I was the only non-pregnant woman in the waiting room.  Which was awesome.

I know from experience that people get this warm fuzzy look on their face when they see a pregnant woman.  Going to the mall at the end of both my pregnancies was a real pain because everybody looked at me either like they were either scared or like they were going to bust out the baby talk prematurely and start having a conversation with my bellybutton.  Well, in that waiting room today I had no warm fuzzy lookit-how-cute-dat-wittle-pwegnant-bewwy-is-yes-it-is feelings.  As a matter of fact I had the irresistible urge to jump up and down on the couch a la Tom Cruise and say "YOU'RE PREGNANT AND I'M NOT NA NA NA NA BOO BOO!"

I overheard one poor girl say she was awaiting a baby boy next month.  I couldn't decide if she walked more like John Wayne or a pack mule.  I sat back and listened as several soon-to-be moms fanned themselves and went on and on with the usual "How far along are you? Do you know what you're having? What hurts on you? This hurts on me..." conversation and gave one another a play by play of their latest ultrasound.  I sighed, content in the knowledge that I was cold and could actually cross my legs.

It's true that the outcome of a pregnancy makes all the misery of pregnancy worth it and it's amazing how distant a memory all the discomfort I endured is now.  It's almost like it never happened.

Key word: almost.

Having been pregnant for some portion of the last 4 years (please try not to gasp, it frightens the children) I feel safe in saying that I'm done for a while... if not forever.  I will not say "never" until either menopause or a fertility-altering procedure occurs, but for today "never" sounds pretty darn good.

I'm ready to get in shape and stay that way.  I want to run races and ride a bike over a mountain.  Maybe I'll take some classes and learn how to do something new.  I want to garden and take pictures and repaint my house.  Most of all... I'm ready to jump headlong into the coming years with the two dear ones I have and throw myself wholeheartedly into making those years the best and funnest ever.

And that's the plan for now.