A little excursion

I went to the office this morning. No, not to work but to accomplish some paperwork. It was, in some way, my first (pseudo) social jaunt since giving birth—my first time to see people that didn’t involve visiting relatives or doctor’s appointments.

The visit was over in an hour. Since some didn’t even know that I’d given birth (the company has several offices on one floor, so sometimes we really don’t all see each other for days or weeks unless we have business to do so), it was kind of fun to see people’s reaction to my arrival: From versions of “Isn’t it too early for you to be back?” to a flustered “Tapos na?” (obviously referring to my pregnancy but not meant to be said that way, haha). I learned that my department is moving to a new office, so I’m leaving my adoptive one, where I’d stayed during my term; its seats are now quite full of people who’d now seen me belly-less for the first time since they first came to work with us.

I must mention that I reveled in the reaction to how I looked, because thanks to a girdle and a pair high-heeled boots, I was able to disguise the fact that I had indeed carried a baby in me for 9 months. Also I had pretty much lost most of my preggy weight and the accompanying swelling so I was happy to fit into an old skirt (but no old jeans yet) to complete a deceptive silhouette.

As Junie, my boss, said (referring to my ensemble), “Looks like you’re back with a vengeance!”

On the side: I died in those boots today after running a couple more errands before heading home. But at least I was a bit tall again for a moment!

Surfacing with some news

I’ve apparently gone on leave from the world. Actually, I took my chance at the long weekend and filed for a most postponed vacation leave. It was wonderful to be home and not feel guilty about not coming to work because I was on an authorized break, not because of some kind consideration or a medical condition.

Being home also meant being isolated in some way—at least technologically-wise, as we were left alone with no cable TV or internet connection. The cable is still forgotten, but we are now online, thankfully.

* * * * *

He came 3 weeks early. While we were doing our best to get prepared (taking childbirth classes, making lists, shopping for things, fixing house), he still arrived a little sooner than we expected.

We rushed to the hospital at 3am one early Sunday. It took some 29 hours or so, and then Armand and I welcomed our son, Matthew Gabriel the morning of November 7th.

It’s been two weeks and a couple of days now with this new life. Our world certainly hasn’t been the same since.

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