I am just burnt. The peppiness that sustained me in my first few weeks was obviously reliant on the backlog of slack I'd built up over the summer vacation...because 12 days at work has robbed me of the desire to perform any but the most basic of life-sustaining functions. I am tired, and I'm not the only one. Oh well. At least I got an extra hour this morning. Sleepy me.

"Miss, what would happen if I didn't take that note?"
"Well, it depends. If you were suddenly illiterate or you'd developed a paper allergy or it was against your religious convictions, I'd have to send you to the office so they could call your parents and make sure you weren't threatened by any of these activities. If you just decided not to do anything, then I'd send you down to the office to work out your decision with the Vice-Principals. Are you going to take the note?"
"Yes." (big smile.)

Sometimes I love these little shit disturbers - they bring out the creative talker in me.

On Monday afternoon I had another appointment with Hectate. The Boy was in class at the time, so I called my mom on the spur of the moment and had her come down to do the appointment with me. It's not that I need someone there, it's just that it's so exciting to feel & hear the baby that I want to spread the sunshine & love. I was a little wary about getting my mom into the office, as the last time we'd spoken about it, she seemed pretty disapproving of the treatment I was receiving and of the choices I was allowed to make. But she's invited to be there when the Sprout is born, so I figured that I should try to build bridges while there's still time to uninvite her.

It turns out that she was just in an incredibly pissy mood last month. In Hectate's office, she was inquisitive, polite & friendly. She asked lots of questions, she was interested in Hectate's replies, and she was able to get some answers out of me that I may not have known before. When Hectate was able to find the Sproutspine by feeling my belly, my mom started to cry quietly. When the ever-wiggly hide-n-seeky Sprout refused to stay still for the stethoscope (yet again!), we used the Doppler to broadcast the heartbeat through the room. My mom was astounded by the depth of her own reaction. On the way out she giggled, wept & bought me flowers. It was very cool.

By the way, I didn't gain any weight last month. I'm still holding steady at 8 freaking pounds since I got knocked up. Weirdsville.

Last night I allowed Dirk to bankroll my participation in Gwen's birthday outing to see "Once Upon A Time In Mexico." He needed a night out, I needed a night off, and since I was flat broke I bartered naming rights to the Sprout for a movie ticket, parking fees and one dollar towards a turkey sandwich.

The movie was so very silly, but it was just what I needed to get my week back on track. It's been a hard three days, what with my ebbing head cold, declining energy and ongoing pregnitis. Seeing Johnny Depp made up like the Crow was a superfine remedy to what ailed me.