N: My Child, the Mature Cantaloupe

Time has
passed and we are beyond titles such as “Long Overdue” or “Time Flies” or
anything else with equal levels of trite. 
So we move onFinishing
our graduate degrees this past July was mentally numbing and physically
tiring.   We had some
fantastic classes to finish up our degrees and then had to take the department
comprehensive exams.  We won’t know
the results until the end of August. 

To return to
my folks place in Rockwall was invigorating.  I was lucky enough to be given the task of ripping out an
old chain link fence.  I was
thrilled to do some physical labor and let my brain rest.  To get to the fence I had to trim the
trees.  Once through the trees,
vines prevented me from actually seeing the fence.  The hornets that made their home in the vines weren’t
thrilled with my decision to cut down the fence.  I had begun to wonder what the pain of getting stung was
like, trying to think back to the last time.  Couldn’t think of a time.  It wasn’t much later that I got stung on the back of the
leg.  It hurt, not too much, but
enough for me to dance around and say a word or two.  My curse word of choice: bananas.  I have never said such a thing in my life.  I don’t know where it came from or why
on earth I chose that fruit, let alone that word, but it seemed
appropriate. 

My work with
the fence involved a chainsaw, a hacksaw, a sledgehammer, a pick, bolt cutters,
wasp spray, a machete, and a good bit of elbow grease.  I loved it.

We got
pictures of our son today.  He is
much larger than a banana.  At 5lbs
4 oz in the womb, he is about the size of a mature cantaloupe. He doesn’t
officially come until September 21^st, but technology is amazing.

We hope these pictures will help you forgive us for our silence. =)