Dear Sprout,

Dear Sprout,

Last week I went to the gym to awkwardly swim slow laps in an old one piece from Junior Lifeguards while senior citizens passed me in the adjacent lanes. After I got home, I realized that part of the suit had completely deteriorated into the kind of fabric that resembles cheese cloth. You are probably already embarrassed.

This week we've been swimming in the ocean with a full wetsuit on because the water is the same temperature as the cold pasta salad I've been making us for lunch. It takes me approximately twelve minutes to get into my wetsuit now, but it is always worth it. Last Friday we swam around with my friend Christine. She told us stories about being raised as a vegetarian, but how her brother grew-up to be a chef who specializes in preparing meat. I hope we all spend time together in the water in the future.

I'm officially starting maternity leave from most of my part-time jobs mid next week. I had my last day of surf coaching with the kids yesterday. They gave me one of those cards that's so sweet, you want to put it on the refrigerator and since it came with magnets that had pictures of them surfing, I did!

So far today has been weird. I have accomplished close to nothing except re-folding the duvet cover and re-heating leftovers. One of the highlights was seeing this bartender who once threw the tip we left him in our faces on Valentine's Day win a lobster dinner from the Valley View Casino on the news.

These next few weeks are the beginning and the end of so much.

I have no idea how to understand what it will be like when you are here and aside from ordering curtains and nightlights for your nursery online, I don't really know how else to prepare myself. I don't feel like in a few weeks we will finally meet because I feel like we already know each other. I feel like I've known you my whole life. But in a few weeks we will finally see each other. There is no way for me to comprehend what this will be like, so in the meantime I will make long to-do lists that say things like "Finish Baby Shower Thank You Notes (seriously!)" and try not to kill all the house plants before you come home.