We were in Maine.

...And now we are back. Still catching up on blogs.

 A lot happened in Maine, and nothing.   It was Speedy's first time to the place that I have been going since I was a child, the same place that my mother has gone since she was a child.  I don't know if the generations before went or not, but it is some place special and remote and further from the cares of civilization than you would expect for an $89 Jetblue flight from JFK and an hour's drive from Portland.

I have been remiss in going to Maine for the last several years, always too busy or too broke.  Coming back I couldn't fathom how I had let it go for so long. It is all ocean and rocky shores, pine trees and the smell of salt and dirt.  It is seaweed on the beach and sand in your hair and scratches on your legs from the seagrass and wild raspberries that line the paths. 

We were only there for a few days, but it felt like a settling in my soul.  We are more sure than ever that we need to get out of the city, to some place that nourishes us by letting us be free.  Here, we are so tied down by our list of daily chores and work that we rarely have a moment to just savor our life or each other.  In Maine, that is all we did from the time we got up in the morning until we went to bed (happily early) at night, in the deepest darkest quiet either of us could remember for a very long time, the only sound the rhythmic crashing of waves on the rocks.

I know we can't retire just yet, but we need to simplify-- we need to have jobs that don't feel like drudgery; we need to have a mortgage that doesn't feel like a life sentence.  We need to live somewhere that smells of pine and dirt, where the sun and rain are not just ideas refracted off of buildings.  I want to be where I can go outside barefoot to feel the chill of water coming up from mossy earth, somewhere that doesn't need to be filtered or explained, just experienced.

...ANYWAY..seems like I missed some things, like OH HEY people giving birth and stuff!  A big congratulations to Chronicles.  And, while I am at it, go send love & encouragement to Oh, Chicken over at We Are Fambly because she is laboring right this very minute! Meanwhile, Cookin' is still waiting-- sending her lots of patience and fortitude.

As for the Speetus report, well, I definitely feel like I made the transition from the "pregnant, who me?" second trimester to the "HOW many more weeks do I have to do this?" third.  Oh, I am all kinds of grateful, and really this has been as easy as pregnancies get if I am to believe everything I read, but things are starting to feel a bit crowded, and I am barely buttoning Speedy's biggest pants these days.  It's just a matter of time before I resort to the dreaded panel pants... (No!No!  I cannot.  I WILL not!)  Nights I am back to peeing once or twice before the alarm, and days my back aches and moans and sometimes I swear I think my ribs are stretching.

I had a midwife appointment today, and all was well, except that I was chastised for gaining six pounds in four weeks.  Really?  Does that seem like too much?!  All the books say 1-2 pounds a week, and that's right there in the middle.  But I know I should maybe lay off the ice cream (which will be easier now that it is cooler). Truth is I think Speedy loved feeding me extra large portions of Ben & Jerry's as much as I loved getting them, and now we both feel a bit chastened that our bad behavior has been called out.  *sigh*

Other than that, though, all is well in Speedy & Pinkyland.  Without going into too much detail, we have had some major discussions and breakthroughs in our relationship lately that have been a bit on the raw and tender side, but ultimately have made us much closer and stronger together.  This is very exciting for us both.  I love having such a wonderful woman as my partner and spouse, and the fact that our relationship is a living, growing, changing thing never ceases to amaze me.