Final Preparations

Hello, friends!

As of tomorrow (Thursday), there will be exactly one month left before Megan's due date! In just a few short weeks, our family will move from being a family of 4 to a family of 5 (out of womb) and Megan and I will switch from playing man-to-man to zone defense. Hot Cocoa (Thaliea's name for him) is growing well, which is a good thing, except for when he decides that he wants to play soccer with Megan's intestines. The kid is a mover! =0).

When both Ezra and Thaliea were born, there was a season of nesting that took place as we tried to get the house ready for our new addition. Things needed to be cleaned, repaired, bought, and assembled. This pregnancy is no different and there's a list of chores that is simultaneously shrinking (as things get done) and growing (as we realize there are more things to do). It's not my favorite part of my day or weekend (especially yard work) but it's stuff that needs to get done and I came into the third trimester knowing that.

The surprise for me was the realization that I there was also some work nesting that needed to get done before Hot Cocoa is born. This wasn't a thing with Ezra and Thaliea. In 2015 and 2017, when Ezra and Thaliea were born, I was still doing field work, so my schedule worked on the academic calendar. When Ezra was born in July, it was a dead time for campus work. Thaliea was born in May, which can be a busy time, but I didn't have any student conferences that May and the school year was over by the time paternity leave ended, so when I came back, there wasn't much to do.

My new role and the timing make things different this year. I'm not in the field anymore, so my calendar is different. I now have more mid-year reviews to write and preparations for the second semester to consider. There's a Regional Staff Conference in December that requires my attention. There are also still a few weeks of the semester left after Hot Cocoa is born. So, I need to prepare.

Between paternity leave, the holidays, and accrued vacation time, with the exception of our Regional Staff Conference, I'll be off until after Christmas. I'm looking forward to the time with my family and won't mind getting to know Hot Cocoa, but there's still a sense of the unknown. I'm confident that things won't fall apart if I'm out for a few weeks but I'd definitely like to limit the number of things that "fall through the cracks."

Ultimately, all I can do is prepare the best I can, and pray that God will fill in my gaps. Join me in prayer, won't you?

Have an excellent day!

~Adam