Slowing Down

I think it is really true that you forget the journey from one pregnancy to the next. I really don't remember slowing down this much in the weeks leading up to Hannah's birth. In fact, I distinctly remember planning (and executing with help) a big conference 2 days before my due date. Where is that Dana?

Well, that Dana never had a busy 2 year old. This Dana does and is feeling the extra weight. Today I went with a friend to the beach. It isn't easy pushing a stroller across the sand with all the beach paraphernalia that for some reason we think it is necessary to bring. Add to that simple fact a 20 lb beach ball around your middle and you truly get a work out!

As we were walking back to the car, I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a race and that I could go as slowly as I needed. When we got back to our house, I just wanted to sit in the car for a while and not move. If the kids would have fallen asleep on the way home, I think I might have been tempted to do that.

It was SO GOOD getting out though. We went at low tide, so Hannah was able to play in the tidal stream at a perfect depth. She loved splashing through the water, looking for crabs (I don't know what she would have done if she found one), and digging through the sand. There was just one slightly scary moment for mommy... Hannah stepped off a sand bar into a slightly deeper pool, went under the water and started floating downstream. I grabbed her probably in less time than it takes to type the sentence and she came up saying "I went under the water!" Mommy's heart soon returned to normal beating and Hannah quicker than that returned to splashing in the water. Oh, thank goodness for my little water bug, and the fact that this pregnant mom's reaction time isn't as slow as it feels.

So, we spent another day enjoying the fact that God has placed us in this beautiful beach town for now.