Not Your Average Morning Commute

Yesterday morning I left my apartment at 7:15am and walked my usual four blocks to Jasper Avenue, the main downtown street, to my bus stop. As I approached the intersection I noticed some flashing police and ambulance lights. I was concerned and assumed it was a car accident since the roads have been a little slippery lately. I began to cross Jasper and noticed that there was yellow police tape all around my bus stop in front of Boston Pizza and there were about 4 police cars, one ambulance and a city bus all parked on the side. I wasn't really sure what to do; I was curious and didn't know if my bus would stop behind all the vehicles. I stopped about 30 metres from the police tape thinking that perhaps there was room for my bus to stop there. I was trying really hard not to be in the way or too nosy. As I waited for my bus I glanced over to where the police were and I saw a television crew, 4 or 5 people that looked like witnesses to what had happened, and various police - and then I saw the body covered with a white sheet. The victims feet were visible at the end of the sheet and there was a dark-coloured baseball hat about a foot away from the feet. I was unnerved to say the least. I still wasn't sure what to do as far as where to catch my bus, but then another police cruiser pulled up in front of me so I decided that I had to go to another stop. I crossed the street in order to walk around the crime scene and then crossed it again to get to the next stop. I called work to let them know that I might be late, but I managed to make it to the next stop on time.

My ride to work was spent thinking about how I had seen the body of a person perhaps before his/her family even knew. If I had been there just a few minutes earlier, could I have witnessed it? Was it drug or gang related? Could it have been me lying there for commuters to gawk at? All these questions plagued me and I felt uneasy all morning, wondering what had happened.

At lunch time I finally was able to find out what had happened. A couple of young men were arguing on the bus and the driver stopped and pushed the panic button. The two men got off, continuing their disagreement and the younger man was stabbed. The man with the knife fled, but was caught by police four blocks north of the incident. It happened just shortly after 7am and I arrived at the scene at 7:25. If I had been on the earlier shift this week I would have been there. When something like this happens it really makes you think of your mortality and how fragile life is.

29 Weeks

Tyke wanted to pose with me too.

12 weeks to go...

Yesterday I went to the hospital that I'll be delivering at to get my blood test done. It took longer to find parking than it did to actually have my blood taken. When I was there I started to get really excited about the birth of the baby and I can't wait to finally meet her. Perhaps I'm just ignorant, but I'm not scared of the birth at this point and I'm looking forward to feeling those first contractions. I guess when you don't know what to expect you can feel that way. I'm sure that once I get into the 2nd stage of labour I won't be as excited, but I'd like to try to remember that with each contraction, I'm closer to having my baby (I'm an idealist).

I've been so lucky in this pregnancy as far as comfort goes. I haven't had any of the major problems that so many women complain of throughout their 9 months. I haven't had a chronically sore back, I can sleep at night, and I've had maybe 3 bouts of heartburn. I know there's still time for ailments to happen, but a lot of other women I've spoken to have had these discomforts already when they've been at my stage. I think it's partly because I haven't gained a lot of weight. I have a feeling I'm going to gain a lot more weight before the baby's born (not just in my belly, though) because my appetite has increased quite a bit. I find that I don't really get full easily, but when I do, I'm hungry again not long after. It's frustrating, because I don't know if I'm hungry because my body needs the calories, or if I've been using my pregnancy to be gluttonous. I know that I've gotten a little bigger in my butt and thighs, and I don't like that very much. I'm hoping that I'll be able to drop the pounds soon after our little girl gets here.

I just finished writing up all my Valentine's Day cards for my kids and getting the envelopes stuffed with the cards my kids made for their parents. They're really into the post office these days so I thought it would be cool to mail the cards to their houses. It's too bad I wasn't organized enough to get them out in time for Valentine's Day, but I think it'll still be cool for them.

I went to the doctor today and had to wait 2 hours to see the doctor. I try to be understanding when I have to wait because it's a very popular clinic and sometimes our doctors have to go out for deliveries. Still, though, 2 hours is a long time. Everything with the baby seems fine, though, and I measured about two weeks smaller than I should. The doctor said it's fine since I'm tall. I have to get more blood work done for my sore ribs. He thinks it's just a pulled muscle, but he wants to rule out gallbladder/spleen/liver issues. He doesn't seem concerned. I'll have to start going every two weeks now that I'm in my 7th month.

Today I called one of the kids at work "toilet". It was pretty funny and it was purely accidental. He had just finished using the toilet and I was talking to his friends about how toilets are dirty and you shouldn't touch them and then put your hands in your mouth. The boy who had just finished was dawdling so I said, "Wash your hands, toilet". He thought it was pretty funny, but he corrected me. I love sharing moments of true humor with kids. I had a pretty good day at work today, and it got better when we played Jenga at our staff meeting.

I'm really glad that it's Friday and I'm looking forward to our weekend. Scott and I haven't gone out without others in a while so tomorrow night we're having a date night. Scott's cooking me dinner and then I think we're going to go to a movie. I'm going to try and get to church on Sunday too since I haven't been there in a couple weeks. Then that night we're going to the hockey game.

The baby has been moving a lot lately and I'm really enjoying it. I'm going to miss being pregnant and having these little private moments with her. I haven't got an updated picture yet, but I'll have to post one soon. I'm still a little on the small side, but at least people can tell that I'm pregnant and not just getting a belly. A lot of people can't believe in 6 months though.