Potpourri

I started my progesterone gel last night,and this morning I am already having some mild menstrual-type cramps in my lower abdomen. I really hate the stuff, but I have to confess that I am glad that I am using it rather than taking progesterone-in-oil injections.

I had one of those weekends that was fun but exhausting. Friday night MM and I had dinner and went bowling with three other couples. The wives are all friends of his from his early days at his current job; they have all moved on to other things but have remained friends with each other and with him. Two live in the Phoenix metro area, and we see them 3-4 times a year; the third was in town from Rhode Island for a visit, and I had not met her or her husband before. It was fun hanging out with them, and I hadn't bowled in a few years, so that was fun, too.

Saturday morning I got up before dawn (a RARE occurrence for me!) to drive to Tucson for an all-day training, followed by taking M, my CASA case child, out for Halloween. After I'd taken M home, I went to a Halloween party hosted by a mutual friend of the friend with whom I was spending the night and didn't get to bed until midnight. And I still had to drive 2+ hours home on Saturday morning after having breakfast with my friend and her husband.

I got home a little after noon yesterday and was tired all day. I did almost nothing productive. MM and I went to a movie, I read and edited/uploaded my photos from Halloween, and I went to bed early, a little after 9:00.

Despite the fact that I had little down-time this weekend (and even less productive, getting-stuff-done time), Monday morning arrived, just as it does every week. Imagine that. Back to the usual grind today.

The friend I stayed with on Saturday night is the friend I wrote about here who is pregnant with the same due date I had for my one-and-only pregnancy that became my early August miscarriage. Needless to say, there was a lot of talk of pregnancy and babies while I was with her and her husband. I actually felt OK about it; I am very happy for them, and it's obvious that they are happy and excited, too.

These past two weeks have made me wish at times that I only worked part-time: when I have so much going on outside work, it can almost feel like my job is taking time away from what I'd rather be doing. (I'm sure the partners in my firm would LOVE hearing that!) Ah well, it pays the bills, I mostly like my job, and I know I'd be bored out of my mind eventually if I didn't work. Not to mention that I would likely spend WAY too much time on unhealthy obsessing about our infertility.

Reminders of our TTC struggles are everywhere. If it isn't my (many) pregnant and parenting friends and acquaintances, it's a commercial or a stranger in a restaurant with a toddler and a big belly. Even the movie we saw yesterday (Couples Retreat) featured infertility as part of the plot line. (Not a true spoiler: the main couple were considering divorce because of the effects of being unable to conceive on their marriage.)

C'est la vie. Not much way to avoid it. Even locking myself in the house wouldn't work. ;-)

These next two weeks are likely to be busy as well. Busy-ness at work is pretty much a constant, and my five-year law school reunion is Friday night/Saturday morning. We have tickets to see Dave Attell the following Saturday. I have been invited to attend a bridal shower/bachelorette party for a friend's wedding next Wednesday evening, and I feel obliged to attend because the friend is a fairly close one and I have already had to decline attending her wedding.

Being busy during the 2WW is a good thing. I will test the morning of 11/14.