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Time Keeps Slipping Into the Future

It's weird this sigh of relief I have. This week is calm. No more speech practices; no more 12-hour Saturday tournaments; it's just me and my work, which I have a good handle on. My students are working on stories in 9th grade, and my upperclassmen are writing as well, which means this week isn't stressful whatsoever, and that feels fantastic to say. I'll finally get to go home right after work instead of being here until 6 o'clock. I'm ready to be at home, clean stuff out, and get ready for what comes next.

The next couple of weeks are full of exciting stuff. Next Friday, I have my first prenatal ultrasound which I hope is full of good news. Then Saturday, we are having the end-of-speech-season party at our house, so I'll need to cook, clean, and prepare. And then on Sunday, it's Brett's birthday, and I need to make sure I make him something special. I really need to start looking at recipes.

The next week after that is just as busy if not more so because of Wednesday morning. I have my first prenatal appointment that day, and it's community clean-up day for Goodhue, meaning we go out into the surrounding community and clean up their yards all day. It's good for the students, but it is exhausting. Luckily, Wednesday is the last day of school that week since Thursday and Friday are part of Easter break (the only spring break we get at this school).

Brett's parents will be here that weekend, brimming with joy over our news I'm sure, and I will attempt to make a delicious Easter dinner that fills everyone's bellies. I love making holiday dinners, especially Easter because it's just a bit different from Thanksgiving. I feel less pressure to follow tradition, and I like to make our own with foods that remind me of childhood and sound delicious. I know my grandma always made a turkey and a ham for Easter and Thanksgiving, but with there being so few of us, I do not need that much food so instead, I compromise. Turkey at Thanksgiving because well it's Thanksgiving! We have to have turkey, and then we have ham at Easter, usually accompanied by my Aunt Becky's broccoli salad and classic, cheesy potato casserole. It's terrible for your health, but it tastes like pure joy. I usually make whatever dessert sounds good which ranges from strawberry shortcake to lemon cake to fresh strawberry pie. If you can't tell, I have a thing for strawberries.

Strawberry shortcake is my favorite. I can still remember those cheap little shortcake cups my dad would buy from the store and bring home. Indented in the center and spongy, they were nothing special, but I loved them. My bowl of strawberry shortcake has always been more strawberries than cake because let's face it, fruit is my favorite food. Pasta and pizza are a close second, but I love fresh fruit. Even now, I have a big bowl of cantaloupe and watermelon in my lunchbox. Maybe it's cravings or maybe it's just me.

Time sometimes seems to drag by, but after writing this, I can see that April is going to fly by. I need to slow down and enjoy each day and stop worrying about the first-trimester ending. I feel good today; I'm healthy, and I can't wait to eat the chicken sandwich I brought for lunch because I'm hungry. Now that the four months of speech team has ended, I am almost done with the year really. It has flown by, but before I know it summer will be over, and I'll be back here starting all over once again.

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