The Middle-Class Lament

I reread my last post and realized how whiny it sounded. Truth is, things are all good. I know I have a lot more than many people and there’s no need to get all stressed out about a few details. The details will get worked out. They always do.

I’ve entered a new phase. I am tired all the time. Also, I keep forgetting that I need to slow down because I can’t do as much as I used to. For instance, I went to a conference yesterday and it was in a downtown hotel. I used to work downtown and I would take the bus when I didn’t have a late-night event. I like taking public transportation, except after 10 p.m. downtown when there is no one walking the streets except you and the guys with liquor in a bag.

So yesterday I took the bus. I can either transfer and take two buses (which means very little walking, but a bit of a wait) or take one bus and walk about seven blocks. I used to do this walk all the time. So I did it. In the morning it was cool, so it was no big deal. After the conference, I did the same thing. Only by now it’s five-ish and extremely humid (we had some pretty wacky weather around here last night; severe thunderstorms and a possible tornado). About halfway through the walk, I started thinking it might not have been a good idea. I felt like I could be on the verge of fainting. And I kept thinking, but this is so ridiculous; it’s not even that far! I think it was the heat, though, and just being more tired in general these days. I eventually made it to the bus stop, the DART gods were kind because my bus pulled up immediately, and then I got to my neighborhood stop.

And here is where you will realize what a dumb ass I can be. Instead of getting off at the closest stop to my house, I got off a stop earlier so I could drop some bills of at the post office. Here’s the thing: it not only added to my walk, but I could have just put the bills in my own mailbox at home. I just had it in my mind that it would be more efficient to do them this way, and it’s not that far, right? About halfway up the first hill I realized I was dumb-dumb-dumb. I walked very slowly, tried to find shade when I could, but by the time I got home my stomach was very tight, like it was in the middle of a long Braxton Hicks contraction. One of the things that can trigger pre-term labor is dehydration so when I got home I took off all my clothes, drank a bunch of water, and then passed out for a couple of hours. I know I was exhausted because after I got up and ate dinner, I went to bed at 10 and struggled to wake up by 8. So there you go. Things are different with my body now; it’s my mind that can’t seem to accept that.

I’m learning a lot in our birthing class, which started on Monday. We had a “quiz” on the first day and I thought it was hilarious that Nate got the question with the answer “mucous plug.” He hesitated for an instant before answering, but I was very proud of him for not laughing, even though the instructor made a joke about mucous plugs right after.

So we’re moving along, dehydrated, mucous plug, and all.