awkward?

We are estimated at 36 weeks today (37 if the first due date was correct). The little seamonster is moving pretty regularly and, I think, trying to work her way down my abdominal cavity.

I have not been making it to the gym as regularly as I'd like, mostly due to this time-crunch I'm feeling to get work done. But, in the grand scheme of things, it's good for me to take time to head to the gym. It helps relieve stress, helps me maintain my health and, hopefully, will help make labor a bit easier.

The past few weeks I've limited my gym exercises to biking on the recumbent bike (with back support, and belly room), some light lifting (lateral pull-downs, triceps/biceps, sometimes hip sled), planks, and stretching. I always feel better after I go, but the experience has been kind of fun as my belly grows.

I am one of the few non-undergrads who goes to the gym. There are a good core of us, but the majority of people at the gym are 17-22, taking classes, and learning (by trial and error) how to make life decisions. This may be entirely in my own head, but I definitely feel like I stick out. I feel like a giant poster board, and it's kind of good. I don't want any of them to think that it's bad to have a baby, but I do hope that seeing my swelling stomach makes them stop and reflect. Of all the conversations I overhear in the gym and the locker room about drinking till they can't feel their faces, not remembering weekend activities, and skipping out on class work, I hope that seeing me makes them stop for a second and think about what it might be like if they were responsible for another person, or how their lives would change if they were expecting a baby. Or think about anything outside of themselves.

A girl in my high school gym class was pregnant, and I remember being very impressed at her dedication to work out, and her positive attitude, and every day I saw her, it reminded me to assess where I was in life and where I wanted to go. Of course, I could have used a reminder in college too - young minds are quick to forget.

So, for as long as I'm feeling up to it, I'll keep heading to the gym, for my own health mostly, but with a tiny bit of hope that I'll engage someone else into thinking about their future.