And the Beat Goes On

The blog's music theme continues as we reach the 39th week of pregnancy.  The preparations have been made.  The classes have been taken.  The name has been chosen (finally).  And now the waiting has set in.  Waiting and hoping that Addison will join us sometime soon.  Sometime, anytime, please, if you listen to Mandi. 

Wednesday we went to the doctor for Mandi's weekly exam.  Without getting too graphic for the Internet (is it even possible to be too graphic for the Internet?), things are progressing, though less quickly than we would hope for.  Still the good doctor (who we shall refer to as the Good Doctor) said that anything could happen at any time.  That kind of specificity earns you the blog nickname Good Doctor, so apparently it is a low standard. 

Mommy Mandi is predictably uncomfortable, though also braving it with an admirable toughness that, from some commentators, was unexpected.  Still, its hard to "enjoy" pregnancy when your stomach muscles are rippling as a little child kicks and punches her way out of your gut.  For both of us, though, the emotional ebbs and flows of preparing, waiting, hoping, waiting, expecting, and more waiting are starting to take a little bit of a toll.  Its time for her to get here already!

So, dear readers, any advice on how to get through the pre-Addison doldrums?  Post comments below.

And to answer the obvious question, yes I do appreciate the irony of this post since once she is here we will be praying for a Saturday morning where we can wake up, drink coffee and post on a blog or, better yet, sleep in.

Welcome!

Of course, readers of this blog will know that its name is a blatant theft from an excellent Beatles song.  Continuing the trend of plagarizing ... err .. paying homage great Brits, I feel compelled to quote Winston Churchill: 

"This is not the end.  In fact, it is not even the beginning of the end.  But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

That famous phrase seems appropriate as the Penny Family (the protagonists of this blog) near the addition of a brand new member.  Baby Addison is due to arrive in about 3 weeks, and our whole family is bursting with anticipation at her joining us.  This space on the Internet is going to be dedicated to the joys, accomplishments, triumphs, and, yes, occassional troubles of our family as we join the community of parents and children. 

And I do consider it a community in every sense of the word.  From what little I have seen so far, parenting appears to be the most cooperative and most independent vocation on which we will embark.  Everyone has a kind word, a piece of advice, a kernel of truth they wish to impart on new parents.  And we welcome such words of wisdom, rookies as we are at nurturing and raising a tiny human being.  At the same time, the responsibility for such nuturing falls to Mandi and me alone, and that singular goal will likely govern all of our decisions for some time.  What could be more personal and solitary?

Philosophizing aside, soon we will be part of a giant tribe of families, many of whom we will turn to and with whom we want to share our chapter of the human story.  This blog is dedicated to that effort -- and allowing the occassional comment from the peanut gallery.  I hope you enjoy what you find here, and hope you'll offer us your piece of advice.  We take all comers.