As Tom Petty Said...

The waiting is the hardest part.

One month to go and it seems like all that’s left to do is wait. The nursery is finished. The baby showers are over. The child care classes (all five of them! I know, we’re dorks) are completed. I have work to go to every morning, but I can’t imagine what the days must be like for Suz. All she can really do is sit around, watch TV and read. It sounds nice, but I know it’s maddening. The last week has been pretty hard on Suz. It seems like everything is getting more intense--the back pain, the sporadic contractions, Luke’s kicks…the boredom. I think next week will be better since Suz will begin her weekly visits with Dr. Pevoto.

Work for me is crazy right now. The clock hitting 8 a.m. on September 1 in college admissions is like the firing of the race pistol in a race that doesn’t end until February. Everything for the next year has to be ready to go by September 1, so I’m praying that Luke can hold on until at least September 2. I’ve made an extensive list of things I have to get done before I leave—kind of like before you leave for vacation. I just don’t know if my “vacation” is starting in one week or a month.

On Monday I started driving to campus—something I haven’t done on a regular basis in almost two years. I’m already having Park and Ride withdrawals. Who knew you could fall in love with public transportation. I miss the opportunities to sleep on the ride to and from campus, and I miss the cast of characters that ride my bus to and from work: the guy that listens to a police radar on the bus, the lady that reads out loud as she reads books, the 50-year old that read Dungeons and Dragons type books, the secretary that dresses like Lily Tomlin’s character in 9 to 5, the guy that hails the bus every day even though the bus stops at EVERY stop. State workers are a site to behold. Annoying yes, but endlessly fascinating.

It sounds like a stressful time, but I know it’ll all be worth it in a few weeks.