Wednesday, November 2, 2011

It's Crunch Time, Baby

In what seems like a running theme, I must apologize for the length of time since my last post. The past 6-7 weeks have been hectic on many levels. On the work front, we are now in the middle of fall championship season and I am on the national Division II women's soccer committee so that adds quite a bit to my normal workday. In addition, basketball season is right around the corner so we have been getting ready for that. Finally, we have two new staff members who are doing a terrific job; but just as anyone in a new position, they have a lot of questions and this is their first year in our league and I am trying to help and mentor them as much as possible. I have also been doing quite a bit of travel...two trips to Indy, an AD meeting and Title IX seminar in Hickory and a few football games on Saturdays.

On a personal note, Joanna and I took some time (a baby moon) and went to Destin for a few days the end of September. It was great to get away and spend time with just each other since it will all change very soon. A special shout out to Joanna's sister (Maggie) and her boyfriend (Brendan) who let us use their condo for the week. Even though they crashed our baby moon for a few days :-), it was great to see them and we really did have an awesome time. FYI, a 10-hour drive each way was a treat for a pregnant woman!!

Joanna and I then went to DC for our nephew's baptism. Ethan Ryan is an amazing little guy and Joanna was lucky enough to be chosen as his godmother. We get to see him and his awesome brother, Jackson, this weekend as they are coming for a visit. Maybe a good tryout to see how unprepared we really are!!

On a sad note, on October 14, my 96-year old grandmother passed away. I hate that she did not make it long enough to meet Baby Britz, but her health had deteriorated a lot over the past few years and I know she was in a lot of pain. Her mind never faltered and she was as sharp as ever up until just a few days prior to her passing. I am so glad I was able to move back to this part of the country three years ago and got to see her on a more frequent basis the last few years. She took me to my first Phillies game against the Cubs at Wrigley (don't remember the year, but I do remember Mike Schmidt jacking one or two HRs) and my first Notre Dame football game in South Bend (vs. Miami in 1980). She was always a huge supporter of mine and came to a lot of my soccer and basketball games, as well as a lot of my skating meets. She will be missed greatly, but in anticipation that someday I would have a baby, she made a blanket a few years ago and it is hanging neatly over the crib right now. Thanks grandma!!

Well, as the title states, it is crunch time. We have a c-section scheduled for next Friday...that's right, the baby's birthday is going to be 11-11-11. Of course, he/she could throw all that off by deciding to come early! My sleep patterns have already started being altered by the overwhelming feeling of there is no way in hell I am ready for this. Poor Joanna is not very comfortable and definitely at the 'get it out stage' and I am at the 'freaking out' stage. To see the change in Joanna's body and what women have to deal with during this time, makes me appreciate the fairer gender even more. What an amazing sacrifice they have to make during this process, but they do it and we love them for it!

While I am very excited to have our child enter the world, I would be lying if I said I won't miss my quiet mornings with coffee while browsing the internet or watching some meaningless TV shows or movies. I am sure once I get to hold him/her, stupid selfish thoughts like that will not even enter my mind, but as we inch closer to the big day, I keep thinking of the things that I won't be able to do anymore.

Well that's it for now...do you think it would be wrong for me to take one last trip to Vegas before next Friday?