A Fond Farewell to Gallternity Leave

This is it. My last day of gallternity leave. Two weeks off work is...I think just about a first for me in my lifetime!! {Is that sad?? I feel like that's sad.}

So in honor of this apparently auspicious occasion, I thought I would recap some of my favorite things from these last two weeks. Things I will miss and things I treasured.

* Sleeping. Alllllllllllllll the sleeping. Sleeping in. Taking naps. Dozing. Taking more naps. Going to bed early. There was a lot of sleeping in this girl's life in the last two weeks. And I don't really apologize for that, because I've been sleep deprived for about the last five years, so I figure I earned these two weeks. {And truthfully, I'm seriously concerned about staying awake all day AND stomaching the return to evil DST all in the same day.}

* Donated meals and treats. This is the first time in my life that I have been the recipient of so many donated meals and treats all in one span of time. It's a humbling thing to receive - and by humbling, of course, I also mean delicious. Thank you Bre, Ronda, Marie, Mom {twice}, Sandee, Trudy, Aunt B, Lisa, Kari, Tim and Rachel, Cindy and Amy and Laurie! I hardly know how to menu plan anymore!!

* Visitors!!! Oh my word. How loved I've felt every time I've heard the doorbell ring! From the people listed above to Lynn, Lara, Teresa, Bev, Savannah, Liam, and James...what great talks and {careful} hugs and even presents...it was just such fun! People were patient while I hobbled to the door in the early days, and it was just wonderful to see them all!

* Writing. It is a rare treat to have time to write. Other than blogging, I haven't had the time to write in ages. And this week in particular, I was a writing machine. I curled up on the couch with the electric blanket and a cup of coffee and just cranked out some serious writing. OH how I've missed it. And OH how I'll miss it again!

* Reading. From magazines to books - I did some catching up this week! It was nice to sit and just read away without any worry of what wasn't getting done somewhere else. I will miss reading.

* Prayer and Bible study - without a time limit. I could just take as much time as I needed every single day. No hurrying to get on the road. No hurrying to finish up so I could make sure I got my responsible adult chores done. Just lingering time.

* Chores!! Who EVER would have thought I would be grateful for that?? Ryan is such a sweetheart and helps {all the time, not just because I was sick} with the chores around the house. Dishes and laundry and cleaning up - he does a good share of all those things regularly. It was a joy for me this week to be able to take care of those things in little spurts throughout the day. It was good for me to get up and moving and back into a routine, and that freed up time in Ryan's mornings and evenings to do other things, because I could get the chores done while he was gone!

* Elastic. Back to real clothes next week - hope my swollen tummy can handle the jeans again. Oh my dear sweet workout clothes - how I will miss you. 

* Braeya Jo. She may be a Daddy's girl through and through, but I have enjoyed spending time with my girl this week. And she enjoyed all the extra snacks. :)

So that's what I'll miss about gallternity leave. It's been a beautiful two weeks. The second week was certainly easier than the first. I had more energy and was far more mobile. But I'm really glad I had both weeks to rest and recuperate!

Thanks for keeping me company the last two weeks. You guys are the best!