*Five Minute Friday is an initiative set up by Lisa-Jo Baker over at Surprised by Motherhood. It has now been taken over by Kate over at Heading Home. The basic premise is to take the word Kate gives and write, non-stop for 5 minutes. Then you stop and post. Read more about it here. This October, I am taking part in a series based on this called “31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes”, in which we commit to writing from the prompt as usual, but everyday rather than just on a Friday. Read more here.
Patience
GO
“Every month has an average of 30-31 days… Except the last month of pregnancy, which has 1,453 days.”
I saw this quote on Facebook recently and it made me laugh. Because I know that feeling. I remember it well when I was pregnant with my daughter, and as I enter the last month until my due date this time round, I am certainly feeling it again.
Pregnancy is very different second time round. Very different. It’s really flown so far. It has gone so quickly that when someone asked me how far along I was a few weeks back and I found out I was already quite a bit over 30 weeks, I did a double take. As did my husband. And then we panicked slightly and went shopping for all the things we needed that we had got by 7 months with our first!
But now, as my toddler runs around the room while I sit because my back aches and I can no longer bend down, I find myself wishing those last few weeks away again. Because I know what to expect, and worry about what life will be like with 2 under 2, I had been happy for the due date to be something far off that I didn’t need to think about too much. But suddenly I have found myself thinking that as tough as it will be to be dealing with our 2 kids, one as a newborn, at least I will have the use of my body again!
It’s tough to be patient – I know this very very well! But it’s especially tough to be patient towards the end of pregnancy. I just hope I can try and take some time to enjoy these last few weeks, to make the most of time with my daughter before she is no longer the only child trying to get my attention, to enjoy the quiet of her nap times where it is just me and there is no one else to look after, to enjoy the good parts of being pregnant, because I know that in a few months time I will probably miss it.
So even though my back aches and I’m breathless, even though I cannot pick anything off the floor and walking in the hilly area where we live is hard work, I pray for patience, so that I may be fully present and enjoy each kick (even the really painful ones!) and each wiggle and each hiccough and each kiss my daughter plants on my expanding belly.
Because this, too, shall pass.
STOP
