spring has sprung

...the grass has risen. A few more days, we'll be out of prison!

That from my elementary school days. We would gleefully repeat the little couplet to ourselves as the time grew near for the last day of school, which was never a full day. It consisted of showing up, getting grades and a few papers, cupcakes, and then home! We would walk home crossing through various strange neighborhoods, and then to the "dirt hills" a long stretch of empty lots filled with hills of dirt and rock and lizards. It make the trek feel a little more adventurous. Then across 4th South, up the hill, and into our own neighborhood.

On one occasion my brother and I arrived home to find my mom gone. We promptly went into the backyard and set up our little pool next to the slide on our swing set so we could have our own water slide. Never mind that it was May. Never mind that it wasn't yet noon. Never mind that the temperature had yet to reach a respectable summer degree. Never mind that as soon as our little bodies hit the water, clad with last years swimsuits, they would be covered with goosebumps. Never mind that the actual swim would not be enjoyable. We loved it because we were free. Free for three whole months of eternity. And this is how we were going to celebrate.

The calendar is telling me that in one month's time I get to be free, too! My due date is May 23rd. Pregnancy is a school. You learn how to hold on to patience though fatigue is trying to wrench it from your hands. You learn how to let the little things go, that's not always by choice. You learn from your three year-old that the baby in your tummy is trying to get up to your head. Some days it feels like that. Zeus could sympathize. Has she been reading Greek & Roman mythology again? (Isn't it perfectly right that Athena cause him a massive headache before she was born- ah daughters- it is an omen of things to come.) You learn your body is has amazing capacity, every single time.

The thing with having a baby is that, unlike actual school, you may get out early (yea! early!) or you may have to stay put for a few more days in that classroom where all the posters and wall decorations have been taken down, the chalkboards are clean with only a farewell note on them, and it starts to feel a little more like a psycho ward than your classroom. I'm obviously holding out for an earlier slot, hoping to find a get-out-of-jail-free card, or something. But you live with what you get. Until then, or at least for today, I am going to do my lessons, take advantage of the sun at recess and try and eat a healthy lunch. Even if it is cafeteria food.