Just when I thought I was better I'm worse. Sheesh! I've been battling this flu for a week now, and I can't seem to get back on my feet. Jean seems to be doing better. If she is truly a day behind me with this thing (as I mentioned yesterday), she'll be feeling lousy tomorrow.
More than anything I'm disappointed at the time Jean and I have lost together. How many more weekends do we have before the baby is here? It's not that we'll resent her at all, but as this chapter of our lives together comes to a close, Jean and I are both protective of every moment we can spend together.
Jean's done the budget for the next month, with a sketch of the budget for February. It's not pretty. The trick is that Jean's company has to take out all benefits for the month the baby comes prior to that time off (that way things like insurance aren't jeopardized while she's on short term disability). If the baby was due in April, all that money could be deducted at a more reasonable rate. We've been preparing for this time, though, and we should be okay.
The problem is that we never did go out for our Christmas Eve dinner. By now, all of the Christmas decorations are coming down. Still, I'd like to have one last night out with Jean where we don't have to hire a sitter. We're going to try to go, perhaps this coming weekend (this flu better be gone by then), but it's one more strain on an admittedly tight budget.
Some good news: we've got the money to get a rocker. We'd asked the Pollyanna pool that my family does each Christmas to combine presents for the two of us. Usually the rules are that we can spend up to one hundred dollars on one person (recipients are pulled from a hat). Jean and I asked that our gifts be combined so we can get her a rocker (I'll be using it too). What's great is that Joanna and Uncle Kevin gave us two hundred and fifty dollars altogether, which will cover all of the rocker we'd been wanting. We're going to the store on Wednesday or Thursday night to make the purchase.
Other than that, I'm just tonight starting to catch up on all sorts of things I'd planned to do over the course of this extended weekend. I'm editing articles for a higher education journal, and marking up my calendar for the coming week (it's a busy one). I find my week goes much more nicely when I've planned it thoughtfully.
Jean is spending tonight knitting a sweater for the baby. She got the design from Joanna (my sister-in-law), who made the pattern for her daughter. It's maroon with cows (black-and-white and brown-and-white) all over. Jean tells me she's been avoiding the sweater for a bit because the cows are so annoying to do. Still, it's a cute sweater and I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter in it. I'll try to get a photo of it on-line when it's complete.
The forecasters were right! Last night's freezing rain turned to plain old rain overnight. Jean woke up once when the storm was particularly loud; I could sleep through a train hitting the house. I didn't go out today, but it was apparently warmer than it has been. I think we're due for colder temperatures in the coming days, but thankfully no more precipitation.
listening: Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky)
reading: 1 Maccabees; The Hobbit (Bumpy's Bedtime Book)
© 1999 Kevin J.T. Creamer