A Few Things I've learned...(4 days overdue)

I've learned lots of things through this pregnancy (I mean a lot):

• Expect and deal with unpredictability. This has not always been easy but I've learned to do so and I'm better for it.
  
• It's possible to gain 40lbs and not feel terribly fat in my rear - which is usually where I feel fat when I'm not pregnant. Nice.
  
• Pregnancy and an impending baby can make me love my husband more than I did the day before - every day. And I think the feeling is mutual/reciprocated.
  
• I am not nearly as fearful of labor (at this moment in time) as I thought I would be with it less than 2 days away.
  
• Pregnancy is not the end all to living life. I can still stack wood (just 1 at a time), mow lawn, clean the house, and be a personal attendant in a wedding at nine months pregnant. I might not last as long in some of these tasks, but I can do them and do not break. Maybe I'm just a lucky one that had an easy pregnancy (ok, I know this is true) but after hearing some stories, I really thought that by now I'd be ready to cry every other hour for the pain/discomfort I was expecting. I also realize that others DO have this pain. But the horror stories I heard/have seen made me think I'd be ready to die by now. I'm ready to be unpregnant, sure, but I feel alright. Again, lucky me!
• Even at 27 - I still wonder if I'm ready for this. If I'm going to be good at this. If I'm going to be ok with it not being about just us as a "couple" family, but a "whole" family complete with children. Then, 2 seconds later, I feel silly b/c I've been waiting for this moment forever. And I can't wait for her to be here. And I know we're going to be good (not perfect) at this.
  
• Everyone has a story. I'm going to try not to, but I know eventually I'll be there too.
  
• I never thought I'd be so worried/concerned about what I might find when I go to the bathroom as I was in the first trimester and the end of the last trimester before we hit the "safe to be born" time. Thankfully we've made it through all those times with no incident. Although now I'd LOVE to find something that indicated this show would get on the road...although now that things are all "scheduled," I feel somewhat in control again and I don't know if I really want to give that up.
  
• I've learned more about the female body than I thought I knew. Amazing how much there still likely is to know that I'll find out Sunday/Monday during the induction process. :)
  
• My body will gain what it needs to. I didn't plan on 40lbs. But I guess the baby and my body did. :)
  
• I have found more support and love than I could ever have imagined in friends and family members that I wasn't as close to and now feel like I could talk to about anything. I am so thankful for these people (you know who you are!) and thank God every day for them.

I think that's all for now b/c my learned brain is turning to mush at the moment. Tomorrow night we start prostoglandins in the hospital and then Pitocin in the morning (Monday). Can you believe it? She's likely going to be here in less than 45 hours. Amazing.