Almost there.....

In 36 hours I will be off bedrest. I will be 36 weeks along. I will have laid in bed for 76 days. Only seeing my girls once a week. It's been hard, but of course I am so grateful that I have made it so far, and that the little girl inside me has been able to grow healthy and strong. This experience has prompted me to think about a lot of things that I wouldnt have normally thought about. Like how an elderly person or someone with a sickness or disability might feel, lonely and bored, unable to get out and see people or do things that they used to be able to do. Or someone in the military-- how in the world do they leave their families for an entire year or more? I think sometimes its easy to forget our blessings, and we take important things for granted....I am so grateful for my little girls, they bring so much true joy to my life. Being alone in this house for most of the time has given me a small glimpse of what my life would be like without them.....so empty. They give so much meaning and enrichment to my life. I am so grateful to be a mother. I'm so excited to be reunited as a family. I'm looking forward to hearing my girls jibber jabber as they play, laugh and scream as they wrestle with daddy when he comes home from work, sing as they take their baths. I can hardly wait till they are sleeping in their own beds, in their rooms right next to mine, and I can hear their little breathing as they sleep. Snuggling with my girls, giving hugs and kisses. And hearing Natalie say, "Love you" as I tuck her in her bed. This experience has reminded me to cherish my girls, and appreciate the time that we have together, in this stage that they are in. I have a renewed desire to make the most of it.