Friday Favorites

We’ve made it to another Friday — and this time it’s a holiday, too! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone.

Today is also a special date on Kevin’s and my calendar: our baby girl’s due date! Now that it’s midday and she shows no signs of evacuation, I’m doubtful she’ll make an appearance today. And that’s fine. I mean, due dates are pretty arbitrary. I know that. And first babies often come late. I’m well aware of that stat as well. But I wasn’t expecting the weirdly emotional feeling I’d have today, processing the stark reality that this baby isn’t going to come on time and we now have no specific date to kind of hope or plan against.

(And yes — having a child is a lesson in losing control. So this is probably good for my Type A personality to have to get used to before I’m officially a mom. But that doesn’t make today easier.)

I know in a few short weeks, it will be hard to remember how today felt disappointing. This baby will come when she’s ready, and that will be just right. Today, though, we wait. And it’s not fun.

I’m reminding myself of the good things: Babies born at this stage or later tend to be better at nursing and sleeping right off the bat. I’m fortunate to have made it this far in my pregnancy, when so many other families deal with scary premature births. I feel really good physically — able to carry on my normal routine during this time of waiting.

And another good thing — it’s Friday Favorites day! So here are a few fun things to keep my mind off the fact that I’m still quite pregnant:

• Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. I heard this NPR piece this morning during my drive to work, and loved its theme. It’s a “collection of original poems for children written in the style of some of the world’s most famous poets — Rumi, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou.” What a lovely idea! e.e. cummings has always been one of my favorite poets, so it’s no surprise this poem, which one of the book’s author’s, Kwame Alexander, read during the interview, has stuck with me all day:

• Pretzel Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies. These aren’t a new recipe, but I was reminded this past week (by Kevin, who requested them, but I didn’t have all the ingredients) how amazing they are. Maybe I’ll make a batch this weekend and freeze some of the dough to bake a couple cookies at a time over the coming weeks!

• The new Beauty & The Beast movie. Kevin and I are going to see this tonight with some friends, and I can’t wait! This was by far my favorite Disney movie as a kid, and I love Emma Watson, too.

• Hamlet the Mini Pig. Okay, this one’s another throwback, but Kevin reminded me of the adorableness that is Hamlet the Mini Pig the other night, and I have a feeling y’all will love seeing him (either for the first time or the first time in a long time), too, on this Friday afternoon:

Hope everyone has a great weekend! (Someone please drink a green beer in my honor.) 🙂