Unexpectedly, she came to visit me yesterday, which is almost exactly 4 months since Liam's birth. And, when she arrived, she joyfully told me that she'd like to resume our regular visiting schedule.
You see, she had been in the habit of visiting me once a month or so, but--once I became pregnant with Liam--she always seemed to have an excuse not to visit.
Most of the time, her reasoning was that I was just too preoccupied preparing for a baby and that she ought to just mind her own business and stay away for a bit.
This, of course, I certainly didn't mind.
Perhaps she figured that, if she stayed away, it would give Michael and me more of a chance to bond as we prepared for the biggest and most beautiful change of our lives.
But, the moment that Liam was born, it was as if she could stay away no longer. She arrived on the scene with gusto, making up for all those months were she had been nowhere to be found. Moreover, she stayed with me for 6 long weeks following Liam's birth. Yes, Aunt Flo was my constant companion, even when everyone else eventually left me on my own. She had over-stayed her welcome, although I didn't have the heart to tell her.
But, when she made her surprise visit this week, she stayed only for a day; and, even then,
her presence was hardly seen or felt.
I realized again how much I hadn't minded her absence previously. She's messy. She's definitely high-maintenance. And she makes me cranky.
Aunt Flo is, essentially, a pain--although not in my posterior. The feeling is more of a dull cramping in the front. :)
