The Wednesday Stork (Thursday Edition): Week 37

**Huh, would you look at that? No picture. Accident? I think not. Just imagine a large, full-term pregnant woman and you'll be on the right track. Maybe I'll be over myself next week and put up another bump shot, but this week...I just can't do it. **

It's been a very African week and I, ladies and gentlemen, have been reminded of how far I am from being African. For starters, we bought new couches! That's not the African part, but I'm getting to that. We bought a couple of really, really cheap used couches when we got to ZA and frankly, they were about as comfortable as sitting on a pile of rocks. We dealt with it for what, 10 months? before I finally broke down and suggested purchasing some new ones, maybe a kind that doesn't make your butt numb. That'd be cool.

So, we ordered some. They're not top-of-the-line but they were affordable and they don't feel like rocks. Anyway, we ordered them on Sunday and Monday (due to banking limitations, we had to pay in two parts) and expected they'd be here sometime on Tuesday. So, fast forward to Tuesday morning. I woke with the birds (typical) and noticed that the ceiling fan wasn't running, which meant one of two things: either Todd got cold in the night—because you know I'm not getting cold in the night—and decided to turn it off, or the power was out. Turned out to be the latter.

I didn't freak out right away because hey, the power goes out. It happens, I get it. And I'm not that high maintenance, right? I can do without power for a couple of hours. We headed to our midwife appointment, did some grocery shopping, and hurried home to await the arrival of our brand new non-butt-numbing couches!

But it was not to be. The power was still out and the couches didn't come. At about 1:30, the guy came to pick up our old couches (we managed to sell them for really, really really cheap) leaving us with a gaping hole in our powerless living room. We waited and waited and waited, but no couches. And no power.

Fast forward to Wednesday. Todd had received three different text messages by Wednesday morning telling us the couches would be delivered between the hours of 1-5 (well, one of the messages said 12-5, but you get the idea). Rather than waste another whole day, he went to the office and took our electronics so he could charge them, as we were still inexplicably without power. He returned at about 1ish and we proceeded to wait another 3 hours for the delivery of our big, beautiful couches!

Sounds like a happy ending, but I'm not finished. Before the couches arrived, our water departed. Yep, for an hour or so we were powerless, waterless, and couchless. I could feel myself coming apart at the emotional seams. I can do without power for two days, apparently, and while couches do improve one's quality of life, they aren't exactly vital, but I consider water to be absolutely necessary. I just do. I spend far too much time in the bathroom these days to feel otherwise.

It was time to, as they say in ZA, make a plan.

Like the power, the water has been out for a while before but never for very long. We gave it about 6 hours but at 8:30 pm when it still wasn't back, we packed our bags and headed to our friends' house. We're blessed to have friends. If one can't have water, at least one can have friends.

And that brings us to the present. At the moment I'm still at said friends' house (where I've been enjoying the modern conveniences of power and water) and have no idea if our little flat is back up to par. But I do know we're not the only ones who have been going without. Our entire neighborhood has looked like a black hole of no return, and the gentle hum of the generators tells us that we're not alone. I'm sure we're all very eager to re-enter the 21st century.

I'd love to go home and sit on my new couches and run my ceiling fan and flush my toilets. Maybe today will be the day...

Oh, pregnancy! Yes, I'm still very much pregnant. Interested in the details? Knock yourself out:

Weeks: 37. Just another month to go, I hope! 
Weight gain so far: I'd really rather not talk about it, but here goes: about 26 pounds *hides face in hands*. Ridiculous.   
Got any prego stretch marks? I don't think so.  
How am I sleeping? Sleeping? It feels like I do a few minutes at a time. I'm sure it's more like a couple hours, but it has definitely gotten really difficult.    
Feeling anything in there? Yep. He's still there. 
Aversions or cravings? Do you crave things at this point? Other than to be able to just get comfortable? 
What’s the gender? Boy. 
Any labor signs? Oh no, not at all.  
How pregnant do I feel? Very. Very pregnant. 
Belly button in or out? Still in...
Still sporting my wedding rings? Sadly, no. 

Can you tell I don't really want to dwell on it anymore? Don't get me wrong, I still have nothing to complain about. It's been very easy and I know I'm so blessed to have made it this far without difficulty. I think there just comes a time when you look at your giant pregnant self and say, doesn't this have an end? 

From a cool and rainy South Africa, this is Meredith No-Power-No-Water Overbeek saying, see you next week...maybe...