It's Complimentary

Last week, we went to our last 'sniff 'sniff Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Christmas party. This year, they held it in the rainforest house at the zoo. We had a fabulous time with all of our friends and enjoyed the great food as well as the cool animals. It was fun to be there at night, different animals were active. The bats were fascinating to watch and we actually saw the chameleon walking around and actively changing colors. It was amazing!

We've enjoyed these parties each of the three years we've been able to go, but one thing that is always a little bit stressful is the fact that they are formal dress. Two of the years, I've been pregnant. Pregnancy and formal wear is a special combination. This year, I was able to just put on a fancy dress that is stretchy even though it is definitely not a maternity dress. I felt pretty good in it and received lots of kind compliments from Marc's colleagues about how nice I looked. However, the ultimate compliment came a couple of days later when our friend Cata approached Marc at work and expressed that she was concerned that I had not gained enough pregnancy weight based on the way I looked at the party. Marc gave a very diplomatic answer (fyi I have gained more than enough pregnancy weight, I always do) something like, "she's gained an appropriate amount, don't worry". When Marc told me what Cata said, it made my day. That was the best thing a woman 31 weeks along could hear. Cata was already on my list of favorite people, but her name has now been chiseled in stone, cast in iron, seared on for life. I think I will consider that my first Christmas present of the season. :)