Plans Take Shape

Pregnancy brings with it many surprises, among them the infamous "nesting instinct," which can kick in as early as the fifth month of pregnancy. The nesting instinct motivates expectant mothers to clean and organize their homes in preparation for the baby. It can be funny to watch this instinct at work -- I remember one of my friends dusting high shelves like a maniac when she was close to delivery.

For someone like me, already slightly compulsive about neatness and organization, it's difficult to tell whether I am experiencing this nesting instinct or just my usual drive to bring order to the chaos. But I've definitely been feeling wholly, irrationally unsettled about the fact that Adam and I didn't know where we would be living next year. So I'm happy to report that we finally have an answer!

We will be staying with Adam's parents for ten weeks this summer while the family for whom we're house-sitting is back in their house; but they will be returning to India, and we will be returning to their house, in August. So I won't have a nursery where I can stencil ducks onto the walls, but as people keep reminding me, the baby won't care about that. And I feel much better having everything settled, with actual moving dates. Hooray for house-sitting!