January

Charlie's first January. He seems ok with it.

January is, without doubt, the longest month of the year. And I've never had a lot of patience with it.

I recently realized that my issues with this month are not entirely my fault. Just last week I heard my mother say the same thing about how long January is and how she's never liked it.

So, either because I was raised in a January-disliking environment or because it's somehow in my genes, I can now happily blame this aversion on my poor mother.

Don't get me wrong. I like (even love) many people who were born in January. I like the newness of the new year. I like the excitement of starting certain things fresh. I like thinking about new goals and resolutions. It's not even the inevitable breaking of some resolutions or the fear of doing so.

It's other things. I may write more about some of those later.

But for now let me say that I can't afford to have this January be a long, slow, dark thing. I just can't let it. The last few weeks of pregnancy take long enough without some of them being in January. And February? Well, at least it's short.

So I'm going to do some things differently this month to try to keep my head above water. One is, I'm going to do all I can to fill this month with happy pampering moments. Without further ado, here are some items I have to look forward to in the next month.

1. Complimentary pedicure--because of the kindness of my big sister. No, she's not DOING the pedicure. She just gave me the gift certificate. In case you are saying "big deal, a pedicure" please keep in mind that

• pregnant women's feet, especially when she gains as much weight and grows as awkwardly large as I have, get a bit neglected and overworked. They need some professional attention.
• pedicures are not normally part of my world. They don't even make the idea list for budget categories in my house. They just aren't to be afforded.

So this is a big deal.

2. Complimentary 1-hour pre-natal massage, courtesy of the dear midwives who are caring for me during this pregnancy. Again, they don't DO the massaging. They leave that to professionals who are specially trained for that sort of thing. Every pregnant woman deserves a pre-natal massage. No joke.

3. Unveiling of the baby's repainted and decorated room, thanks to the hard work of my sister-in-law. She's providing the labor (and the creativity) and my big sister (again) is helping with paint supplies (it IS her house, you know). This will be very exciting. None of my babies have actually had a nursery decorated just for them before. I hope baby likes it!

See, January can be a good thing.

But this isn't the last you'll hear from me about this dreaded first month of the year. Stay tuned.