Tammy

This weekend, we went to Elliot’s 20th college reunion at Penn. It is amazing how reunions everywhere are all the same. There is a lot of superficial chatting and catching up, a lot of checking out everyone to assess who got old, who got fat, who looks good, who is married, who is divorced, who has children, who has a good job, and the obligatory self-comparison . . . the “am I younger looking, do I have a better job, am I better off than . . . ” line of thought. It is also amazing how the same old cliques seem to resurface, and the same old insecurities can rise to the surface.

On a side note, Elliot is one of those guys that does not seem to have close friends. He has TONS of acquaintances, but no close circle of male friends with whom he regularly socializes. I bring this up to put him in context for his reunion. He went to this reunion not knowing who would be there, and without any plans to meet up with an inner circle of friends. As such, we were sort of “lone wolves” at the reunion. We did not have a select group of friends with whom we attended all the activities, and it was really hard to figure out the people I should try and talk to and befriend. Let’s be honest . . . no one at the reunion was there to learn about me! If Elliot had a group of close friends, they might want to get to know me because they would be interested in learning about Elliot’s life. But most of the people there learned I did not attend and just simply moved on instead of talking to me. (To be honest, I think some of the women looked at me and thought – “she looks much younger than the rest of us, and I just want to get away so she does not make me look too old”). I think reunions are more fun when you are the one who attended the school!

We did have a good time – Elliot got to see lots of faces from his past, revisit the campus where he spent a chunk of his life, and reconnect with his past. It was fun to see him in his element and hear some of his college stories. There was even a slightly embarassing clip of him in the class video from his college days that I have on DVD and intend to show to Micah one day down the road.

Even better for me . . . we stayed with my friend Tammy who is a thoracic surgeon at HUP. She had to work most of the weekend, but she was kind enough to offer us a place to sleep and to stay in on Friday night so we could leave Micah with her while we attended reunion activities. Elliot, Micah and I went to the class parade and picnic together on Saturday. When we returned, we headed out with Tammy for some delicious gelatto (I think the best gelatto I’ve had in the US to date!). Tammy, Micah and I stayed in on Saturday night while Elliot went to a party at a local bar. To be fair, Tammy and I had kind of exciting plans. We ordered Indian food, then rented Frost/Nixon. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, put Micah to sleep, and then 5 minutes into the movie . . . we were both passed out and asleep. That is right, ladies and gentleman, we didn’t even talk and catch up. Elliot got home around 11:30. I woke up and pumped . . . and went back to sleep around 1. It was a wild and crazy night.

***At Tammy’s request (see comments below), I am clarifying that she had to get up very early Saturday and Sunday (and well, frankly, everyday!). She had to be at work at 6. I had the Micah Man waking me up early, so between the two of us, we were just exhausted!

I had an amazing weekend . . . I had an old friend from college, Tammy (whom I haven’t seen since graduation), come down and visit! She was my first guest in our new home, and I was so excited to see her after so much time. She was quite a trooper – she had to endure the mess of newly sanded/refinished floors (so new, they were still in process on Friday and Saturday!), and all my furniture strewn all over the house and draped plastic walls (that looked like a scene from Dexter).

I am glad to say we still get along and had plenty to talk about. We had an amazing time touring around DC. She arrived Friday evening, and we had a relaxing night on our new couch in the Rec Room – we decided to walk a few blocks and pick up Indian takeout for dinner. We just stayed up and talked and enjoyed – and Nugget even behaved herself! The next morning, I was stuck waiting for the floor guy to show up – naturally, he was several hours late, and inconveniently delayed us. Eventually, we went for brunch at the Original Pancake House (I just love crepes!) and we just spent time talking and catching up. We decided to head to the Spy Museum that afternoon, and it was definitely fun (although I wish I’d thought of checking out the Newseum instead). We came back to meet Elliot for dinner, then popped over to a post-Iron Man celebration for my friend Jeff at a local bar. Our next stop was back downtown for a nighttime tour of the monuments! We managed to see the FDR, Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials, and we drove by the World War II and Jefferson Memorials. It really was a beautiful night – not too cold, and the rain had ceased so it was clear outside.

Sunday morning, we decided to go back downtown again. We went to the Jefferson Memorial, and drove around the Mall, then we walked by the White House. On our way home, we drove through Georgetown, and I showed Tammy a few of the wonderful parks in the area. I decided to give my “hard sell” in the hopes that she considers this area for her next job! We returned home in the early afternoon, and then she packed up her car and headed back to Philadelphia.

So, all-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend! Even better, Frank decided to be cooperative and let me do all the walking I needed to do without acting up too badly. I actually had a really pleasant few days, contractions and all! This is the most physical activity I have been able to do since 28 weeks without ending up in severe pain. I think I am starting to feel human again!

As of today, I’ve officially made it to my first end-of-pregnancy goal – 34 weeks! I could safely have this baby at any time now, so it is quite a relief. I have another midwife appointment and an ultrasound appointment this week, and from here on out, they will be doing weekly scans of the baby (a biophysical profile) to make sure he is still doing well. Regardless, I have only 2 weeks left until I stop the medication. While I realize that there is a good possibility I could stop the medication and the contractions could stop, I am already feeling some changes, so I have a feeling this baby will come fairly quickly after I stop taking the Terbutaline. Even if he doesn’t, the fact that Frank is no longer causing me much pain is a huge relief, so I am certain I can stick it out until the baby decides to arrive.

Those were the days, my friends . . . .

Reunion