The wochende!

Ah, Friday. The apartment is a mess, the dog is a bit smelly, but I finished my first round of German classes, did well on the first test, the dog is still alive, and even got some ear drops for whatever has been bothering her right ear inside. Interesting, they give you medication here first for some things (apparently also for pets), and then tell you to come back if it hasn't cleared up in a week. I've heard that people prescriptions are the same.

We have a dinner invitation across the hallway tonight, so on top of getting home and getting the dog walked in the rain, I can now just relax a bit. I don't even have to cook! What a treat. Then again, so is the rain, really. After 13 years in Tucson, rainy days are still kind of novel, and since it is summer rain, it is only 60 degrees here, so not really cold.

All the responses I got from people on Facebook who I asked about how they dealt with the birth/arrival of their first child (and how their maternity/paternity leave worked) have been great. They span the range of all-up-to-the-mom, to stay-at-home-dad. One couple spent 3 months home when they adopted their daughter. Another couple had a nanny after 6 weeks because mom was in medical residency and dad was working on tenure. What most people did have in common in their answers was that if we ask people to come help us right after the birth, we should ask only people who know (and are okay with the fact that) they are coming to help cook, clean, shop for food, etc. That we are not inviting people to come on holiday - we won't have time or energy to show them around. Heck, according to another friend, I won't even have time to handle the basic shower/food/bathroom sometimes. So that is something else to start thinking about.

But for now, we're nowhere close to a birth, it is Friday afternoon, and I'm home with a dog curled up on the bed. This is nice.