Hope

It's been ages since I wrote anything, but I suppose that is about right since life has kicked us around a bit recently. It's been scary and fantastic, and I think it will all work out in the end.

We're adding another little boy to our family, sometime in mid-May. Bret and I decided to find out the sex (again) and I don't think there would have been any hiding it. Henry hasn't really caught on, I don't believe. We'll have to get to all that pretty soon though.

2008 was just over the top in the end. I got pregnant. Bret had complications from his oral surgery. My grandfather died. We all got the absolutely wretched stomach flu that was going around and lost a bunch of weight. We went to NYC for a week for my brother's wedding. We all got RSV, and Henry and Bret both got terrible ear infections and lingering coughs. Bret couldn't hear much of anything for a few weeks. Bret got hired by Alachua County, and loves his new job. Henry started school at Holy Trinity (it's really daycare, I like to say school and feel less guilty). I put in notice at work.

It was exhausting, the end of 2008. Our lives got all flipped around, and things are all mixed up.

But here we are, fresh in 2009, and our family is getting ready to start fresh in so many ways. I will get to be at home with Henry for a while before the little bean is born, and then I will get to be a full time mom for a while. Bret loves his new job, and he's really excited about it. Henry loves school already, so we're already thinking about starting preschool in the fall when he's about 2.5.

Things are feeling so fresh, even though I am still working until mid-February. The prospect of getting to focus on Henry for real so soon is exciting. There is something so liberating about knowing that your stressful job, and all the added responsibilities of clients and cases, will be ending very soon. Of course, wrapping things up is no small task, but having an end point is incredibly satisfying.

I'm also very scared, for lots of reasons. But I'll focus on the excitement for now, because there is hope in all of that.