It must be nice...

...as in, "it must be nice to be part-time this year." "It must be nice to have more time at home." "It must be nice to only teach 3 classes." Yes. Yes it is. Except for when it's not.

I won't knock being part-time, as my school has given me a great blessing this year. To be able to keep a little bit of "normal" in my life and continue to do what I love has been great. But being part-time isn't "normal" for me. So, I won't lie that when people comment on me going home to take my afternoon nap, it gets under my skin. So, here is what my "afternoon nap" entailed this week so that I can keep in perspective that my part-time gig is a necessity for me right now and a reminder to not feel bad when people assume that I've got a lot of free time on my hands.

Monday - scheduling. We have a few more appointments than the average pregnancy, so coordinating them often takes a bit of time. Monday I spent 2 hrs on the phone coordinating appts so that I could get them all in 1 day and save having to make multiple trips to the U and take additional time off work. 8:30 - ultrasound, 9:00 - fetal echo / high risk OB nursing, 10:00 - Perinatal Care Conference, 11:00 - NICU, 1:00 - high risk OB MD, 2:00 - Perinatal Care Counseling. *Success*

Tuesday - planning. Today was also spent on the phone deciding on a final resting spot for Will if/when that day comes. Sunday we drove through the cemetery picking out the 'perfect place' for him and, God bless my parents, they made an appt at the cemetery on Tuesday and asked all the hard questions for us. Available plots, plot pricing, burial options, internment/disinterment permits. These are the things I know I need to start planning, but can't quite bring myself to make those calls.

Wednesday - bills/follow up. With all the appts come bills. Trying to navigate the land of insurance with my care being in CR and Will's care being in IC has been interesting. CR has released me to the U now, so at least bills should only be coming from one place, but there is not much to do but laugh at the ridiculousness of health care costs and the fact that one 30 minute appointment can have bills from 5 different departments attached to it. $1200 for a 3 minute procedure? Hmm... Additionally, our situation apparently makes me the poster child for antepartum depression, postpartum depression and anxiety so the U has given out my name for research studies to see how I do over the next 6 months. *Because I don't get enough junk mail and phone calls.* My sarcastic side wants to ask them if they realize that their paperwork and phone calls evaluating people at-risk for depression and anxiety may be the cause to some of their patients depression and anxiety. :)

Thursday - planning. More planning today with huge appreciation to my parents for doing the leg work and reporting back again. Today they met with the funeral home for us. Our next appt we will lay out a plan for what Will has to do to qualify for discharge from the hospital. If he's able to come home with us, that scenario is vastly different than if we remain in the hospital. I know we need to make an appointment to work out all these details ourselves, but the initial information of logistics, pricing, options, etc was a very helpful place to start.

Friday - research. We have been given so many resources and so much paperwork that we're behind in trying to keep up with it all. We are kind of hitting the "divide and conquer" approach in that we both read different things and report back to the other, highlighting sections that should be read so we can streamline the information. I'm thankful for all the info, but definitely playing the "ignorance is bliss" card as there are just so many scenarios to take into account. Will reminds us daily that he is steering this ship and we're just along for the ride. However, I know the more we take care of now, the smoother that ship will sail if the seas get stormy. Every captain needs a competent crew. Hopefully we don't disappoint! :)