Eye on the Prize

I never did well in Physical Education. The best I ever did in my younger years was an 'S' for satisfactory effort, and in later years, a C+, which was more for attendance than anything. I opted out of P.E. in grades 11 & 12 because the last thing I wanted to happen was to be tested with a 'fat' gauge to measure change in physical inches between Day 1 and the end of the year. Couldn't they guess what that would do to a teenage girl's self-esteem? Anyways, the goal for me all those years was June- and the end of PE for another two months.

During this pregnancy, I've kept my eyes on intermediate goals such as 1) strong beta hcg numbers, 2) 6 weeks, when the heartbeat is seen, 3) 9 weeks, the latest gestation date of our miscarriages, 4) 10 weeks, the promotion from RE's office to regular OB, 5) 13 weeks, the beginning of trimester #2. Last week, it was our 20wk milestone of half-way, and the anatomy ultrasound.

It continues to be surreal to be pregnant again and to feel Baby Girl's kicks and tumbling. It is difficult to wait four weeks in between appointments because I'd like someone 'official' reassure me everything is okay but in the meantime, my prayer life and dependency on God's provision carries me day-to-day.

In the past years since having Russell, I've sometimes wandered over to the girls' side of clothing stores but haven't lingered too long unless I'm buying for a friend's daughter. The girls' clothing was just so super-cute, it was hard not to at least look. Last weekend, I needed to drop a few items off at our Thrift Store and so I took the liberty of going inside and checking out the girls' isles. I don't plan on buying too much 0-12 month clothing because Dan's cousin's wife is setting a few bags aside since they have three daughters, but I still just wanted to look for random items that usually aren't given as gifts (coats, shoes, hats).

I was so pleased to find the following winter coat:

The picture doesn't do it justice, but for now, this coat symbolizes my 'eye on the prize' and hope. It will do Baby Girl for next winter (12-18 months) if we spend Christmas up in B.C. And for $1.99, who could pass it up?