36 weeks.

Dear baby,

This week we finally crossed everything off our to do list just to be ready in case you come early. The car seat is installed. We have an outfit to bring you home from the hospital in. We have a place for you to sleep. We have diapers. The tiny clothes we have are washed and folded. The list goes on. We are trying to be those minimalist parents who don't need too much, but it turns out that having a baby comes with a lot of stuff.

I also had my last week of work before maternity leave this week. What an emotional week it was. My students threw me three surprise parties, wrote me beautiful notes, and bought me presents. They even planned games like guess the melted candy bar in the diaper and guess the baby food flavor. My peace class sang me "Imagine" by John Lennon. Sometimes the rewards in teaching can be hard to come by. They are surely not monetary. It can be easy to get caught up on the negative interactions or attitudes or complaints because of how much of our hearts we put into our work, but this was a week full of highs and really just made me love my job even more. My life has been made richer because of the many students and teachers I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from, and for that I am grateful.

Now, I will spend the next few weeks at home preparing and waiting for you.

Love,

Mama

(This week's photos taken on the side of the road in our neighborhood on a cold and windy day after work. Sometimes when you see a small field of flowers, you just have to pull over and take some photos.)