<b>By Pamela Brownstein</b>

After nine long months, the time has finally come for me to succumb to my condition and take off on maternity leave.

Unlike my first pregnancy, I feel like this one has taken its toll. With the first one, I relished comments such as, “You look great, you’re glowing!” This time, one look into my tired eyes often prompts a patronizing, “How are you feeling?” But what they really mean to say is, “Whoa, you look rough!”

It’s for this reason, and many others — including awful acid reflux and extreme exhaustion — that I am glad the end is in sight.

During my time off, I’m looking forward to kicking back and reading books on the beach, sipping cocktails by the pool, spending quality alone time .... um, oops, I’m sorry, that was me talking from Fantasyland.

Instead, I’ll be making last minute improvements to my house, and trying to pretend that I don’t notice how everything needs to be cleaned but realizing I’m too tired to do anything about it. I’ll also be spending a week on “vacation” with my in-laws.

On or around August 7, we’ll be welcoming a new baby girl into the world. Then the rest of the month we’ll be adjusting to the needs of a newborn, as well as taking care of an increasingly willful toddler. Throw in several weeks of my own visiting relatives, and I anticipate a very busy, and possibly even stressful, time off.

But as I find myself immersed in Babyland, there is still so much happening in the community, including the start of fall sports, and of course, to the excitement of every student, the start of the school year. I hope our readers continue to send their photos and stories to theislandnews@gmail.com; I’ll see you in September.
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