Kate, having raised my kids several hours away from immediate family, I can tell you that there are always a lot of local resources and support networks for moms. I volunteer at a Family Resource Center that has playgroups for local moms and I am also a member of a MOMS Club chapter. They've been great for meeting people and getting some peer relationships for the kids.

Oh, Kate, I'm so happy for you too!!! I hope I didn't say anything weird when we spoke the other week, like, "You'd better come visit me BEFORE you get pregnant." OH WAIT I SAID THAT, WTF.

Anyway, I totally hear you about your mixed feelings, but I feel strongly that this will al work out excellently well. You two are going to make great parents, and you will make a home and a community and a family regardless of geography, no matter where you are. And I can't WAIT to meet your baby!

Congratulations Kate!

OH WAIT I SAID THAT, WTF.

Ha! But hey, supposedly the second trimester is the best time to travel, so... what are you doing between, say, late October and late January?

Yeah, when I called you it was pretty hard not to tell you! Though I guess I hadn't taken the test at that point yet, so it wasn't confirmed, just a very strong suspicion.

I have been putting off emailing or calling other friends, though, because I want so badly to tell them and yet I really feel like I should wait. But then that makes me feel more isolated, so... perhaps not a great plan?

so... what are you doing between, say, late October and late January?

Hanging out with you, clearly! Let's make a plan.

I'd think there would be many couples with young children in your area, Kate.

I think there are; that's part of why we wanted to move to East Nashville. There don't seem to be just a whole lot in our immediate neighborhood, but I think we probably just need to branch out a little more and be more proactive. Thanks for the link, btw!

Kate! Baby! And yes, goodness, I had my two an ocean away from family and friends, and it was lonely and scary before we found a community to be part of. But there were also perks to being that far away from nanas who know best, especially with the first one. So, those scales will balance, you know?

I'm sorry you're feeling ooky, though, may that improve very soon.

Hanging out with you, clearly! Let's make a plan.

All right! I will start looking into plane tickets, or I might just say, fuck it, I'm about to take a whole lot of (probably unpaid) leave from my job anyway, what's another day or two?, and make it a road trip instead. I will let you know when I have a sense of which weekends might work. Woo!

Woo! Yay!

Excellent! I wonder how old they have to be before they can be really useful minions. 18 months, maybe?

Matilda would happily fetch the remote at age two.

Kate! I'm so very happy and excited for you. Sometimes the second trimester isn't just a relief from morning sickness but a kind of happy glowy filled with life-making hormones kind of time. And then the baby is kicking you in the bladder or headbutting your lungs in the third. But the second is often very nice. Anyway, I'm hoping you get one of those.