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Keeping quiet and balanced these days. The focus has truly been on the stuttering growth of my stomach, whose fundus has begun to outpace the weeks-along. I've found myself fighting to balance morning sickness with school responsibilities, leaving social pleasures by the wayside. Some days, I feel as if all I can do is keep my jaw jutting above the waterline, and days like these, while still burdened by the scholastic countdown, I feel a bit more at peace. I cannot explain why one wins out over the other, how I let the simple breath crash against the shore.

Here is an updated photograph, taken this afternoon, of my baby-belly. You can see I still have that waffle-iron burn mark--faded, but very present. It is not my most recent klutz-adventure, but a little reminder of Ryan's declaration--to make it through these last five weeks of pregnancy, he's suggested a pill-a-day organizer, bubble wrap, and a helmet. Sometimes, I think I might just hide under the bed and wait and see. Maybe the semester can end gracefully without me.

Small, lately comforts: the word daughter, organic milk, poem treasures, afternoon naps, tracks in the snow, handwritten letters, wool and wooden needles, butternut squash soup.