>In addition to recently asking me why, if the baby only weighs about 7 lbs, am I so bloody enormous, Bennett came up with this gem today: “Mum, when you get in the car, did you know that the whole thing shakes? I mean, you’re THAT big that you make the car shake!!”

It is at moments like these that I remind myself he’ll never know the beauty of pregnancy and childbirth (although at the moment, I’m not experiencing much beauty in any form..), and that while it’s my job to foster his humanity (can you tell I’ve been living on the West Coast for 12 years, or what?), he’s still a male. Francie has at least more tact when she asks: “How long after the baby comes will you be fat for?” Or perhaps, I’m reading empathy into her question because I know (and hope) that one day she too will be blessed enough to curse extra pounds of baby weight. (Although the thought of my scrawny little chicken with any extra pounds is hard to get my head around.)

There’s always dialogue about children and body image, and lately I have been wondering what it must be like for them to see me pregnant — to watch me morph into a science project for what seems like an eternity — to them and me. Francie doesn’t even remember what I look like un-pregnant.. or as she said recently: “What do you look like when you’re not fat?”

Other than waiting around for the baby, squeezing in appointments, wrapping up work, and fielding delightful questions from the kids, I’m enjoying autumn in Seattle. We don’t always get this season.. we can often go from “summer” to rain.. but we’ve had lovely crisp, sunny days.. and I’m finally wise enough not to take them for granted.