A Glimpse of What's to Come....?

Sunday was a horrible day. But it was also one of the best days I've ever had.

I bartended Saturday night and got to bed around 3am. After a series of nightmares, my alarm went off at 7:30am, and it was time to get up and get ready for the Brewers game my friends and I were going to. Other than not having coffee to drink--Aaron had either been too drunk on Saturday night or too tired Sunday morning to figure out grounds to water ratio--the morning passed uneventfully. I left the house knowing my feet were swollen and extremely tired but figuring I could sleep on the hour drive to Milwaukee.

Of course getting a group of ten people together for a Brewers game is no easy feat, but somehow we made it out of Sheboygan by 9:30. I was able to doze a bit on the way down but was still feeling pretty swollen despite the water I was drinking.

Tailgating was just fine. There were only four girls in the group, and we were sitting around talking together. Other than talking a little more about the baby on the way a little more than I'd like, I was pretty good. But I was also pretty swollen. I knew I was retaining water because I hadn't had to pee since I'd left the house and it was almost noon.

At some point, I decided to check my cell phone and received an urgent message from my step-mom, telling me to call her and that it was important. We played a little bit of phone tag but were eventually able to connect.

I knew it was going to be bad, and I was even sort of expecting the news she had. Her sister, my aunt, had passed away early that morning. We all knew it was probably coming. I hadn't known or been close enough, but much of the family had been there the night before to say good bye. But knowing someone is going to die still doesn't make it a happy experience. I think I did a nice job of holding it together on the phone. I tried to be loving and supportive because I knew Laura was hurting much more than I was. She comes from a big family, and this is the second sister they've lost. They all stuck together and took care of each other, so it's very painful for them to lose Carol.

But it was pretty hard to hold it together once Laura let me go.

Keep in mind, I'm in the middle of the Blue Mound lot in Milwaukee, surrounded by drunks playing bean bags with blaring music and no place to get it together. And I'm swollen. And did I mention I'm wearing jeans and a dark t-shirt and it's the first day of the year that the temperature is over 70 and the sun is shining right down on us? And I've had about 4 hours of sleep. And I'm 24 weeks pregnant.

Poo poo pachoo. I dry up the tears and put it to the back of my mind. After saying a few prayers, there's really not much else I can do right now. My sister is in Africa, so I can't call her and offer comfort. Laura seemed like she just needed some time to process. I didn't even have my cousins' phone numbers.

Everyone is finishing up eating and drinking. I'm standing beside my husband and one of his friends. Both of them have beer bellies. A girl makes a comment that the guys match me. Gee. Thanks. She's like, well, I didn't mean it in a bad way. Pregnant bellies are cute! Uh huh. Thankssss....... I feel my eyes welling up.

At this point we're ready to head into the park. I'm tired and getting more tired because of the crying. I don't feel really awesome, but I'm going to try not to be a party pooper. It's getting hotter, and I'm getting more uncomfortable. I'm swelling up like a balloon. We get to the home plate entrance and the line is moving, but no one from our group seems to want to go inside. Instead, we literally walk around the entire freaking park (for no apparent reason) and I get hassled for having a bottle of ice. Really? I'm clearly pregnant. I whipped it out and went inside.

Then all the girls have to go to the bathroom. Are you freaking kidding me? They went when we left the parking lot! Okay, fine, we go to the bathroom. They found it. I was shocked. I mean, no one could seem to figure out how to get into the park so I was really surprised they found a bathroom.

Anyway.

I get my mood together. Sort of. But everyone is drunk. And I'm irritated. To be honest, if there was a day to have a drink, I feel like this is it. And I don't get to partake. Then we need to go for a smoke break every other inning. Again--are you freaking kidding me? We're at a Brewers/Cubbies game. Why are we leaving our perfectly good seats on the first base line every 20 min?

Keep in mind that it's cooler in the park, but walking literally almost a mile to the smokers tent and then back, the heat, the people and traffic, and the smell of stale beer are all taking their toll. I'm exhausted. My feet are really swollen. I'm considering napping in my seat.

The game ends with a fantastic win--probably one of the best I've seen--and we head back to the vehicles. It's procedure to hang out in the parking lot and celebrate or wait for the traffic to die down. We have to take care of the grills and everyone's a little hungry and thirsty anyway. But again--the heat, swelling, tired. I'm almost in tears.

We hung out in the parking lot for nearly an hour before I started getting really whiney. I tell the driver of the vehicle I'm riding in that I'm ready whenever the rest of our group is. He agrees; he's ready to go. But some of the people are like, what's the rush? Hmmm... kids, dogs, being freaking exhausted. I'm not saying anything but when the matter is furthered pressed, I snap. "I'm pregnant. That's why we're leaving. Because I'm freaking swollen, and tired, and cranky, and I just can't stand around anymore. I need to go!"

Up until Sunday, I really hadn't had a bad pregnancy day. And now I'm thinking this summer really is going to suck for me.