My not-very-scheduled Fall is looking more and more hectic as the days go by.

I have significant plans for every single day between now and the end of the month � including weekend days.

So much for all of the butt-sitting and navel-gazing I was hoping to do during my eighth month of pregnancy.

I was telling my mom how scheduled I feel, and her reply cracked me up. �You know, if we were more programmed to live in the now rather than to be so forward-focused, you wouldn�t be so bothered by your schedule over the next month.�

Well, yeah. That was helpful and unhelpful all at the same time.

It was mostly helpful in reminding me that I haven�t been very good about my meditation recently. It has been several weeks since I meditated regularly. Not sure why. Of course that also made me think, �Gee, I should get back into that and add meditation to my daily to-do list.�

Ha! Instead of taking a load off, mom�s reply made me feel like I need to add to my schedule.

Too funny.

Seriously, though, that�s probably why I haven�t been actively meditating. It was one more thing that I was feeling stressed about doing � which rather defeats the purpose. Plus I spend a lot of time at different points in the day relaxing and �being� with the baby � when she starts kicking I let my mind shut off and I just sit in that moment for as long as I can. So I guess my scheduled meditation has been replaced by various spontaneous mini-meditation interludes.

Anyway. Still feeling awfully scheduled, but I think I am going to do my best to try and not worry about it. Can�t change it, and it doesn�t mean that my next month will be bad � it just means I have more things to do. Plus I can know that there is a definite stopping point to the activity; a time in the not-too-distant future where I will be home, nearly all the time, with the baby � doing a whole lot of nothing.

I�m doing something fun next week.

I found a photographer that does maternity photos. You know, the �belly shots� that are popping up everywhere. Her photos were both whimsical and spiritual � when I browsed her portfolio I started to cry. I figured, �Hey, if she can bring out the pregnant goddess in all of these other women � why not me?�

Plus, our wedding anniversary is coming up and I�d like to give Blue something special. A picture of his daughter�s ever-expanding house might be just the thing.

Plus, Blue has to go out of town in a few weeks and we�ll be apart for more than ten days � which is longer than I have ever been without him. Not only will we be apart, but he will be doing something that traditionally we have done as a team.

I have a great excuse for not going � I�m not allowed! And for good reason � no travel so close to my due date.

But it makes me sad, and I think it makes Blue a little sad, too.

So I�m going to have the best �belly� picture ready to go before he leaves � so he can take a little piece of me with him.

I�m a little nervous about the photo shoot � I have to figure out what to wear (and some of the shots will be completely sans clothes, with carefully placed limbs to cover up my dainties) and how I want to pose. I�m not very creative, so I keep scouring maternity photography sites to get ideas. But I�m also really looking forward to it.