Missing Madison

"From you have I been absent in the spring...." Shakespeare, Sonnet 98

Normally I would be getting ready to drive up to Madison, Wisconsin tomorrow for WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention I've been attending oh, since 1998, I think. But not this year. It's too close to my due date, and the last thing I need to worry about is going into labor while I'm up there and fighting the traffic back to the Chicago area. It's hard for me to get around anyway. That won't stop me from thinking about Madison--the Farmer's Market, State Street, and all the other things I miss about my favorite city. Plus of course there are panels I could be attending, people I could be meeting or renewing a friendship with, and lots of books I could be buying. We do have things planned for this weekend around here, but it just won't be the same. The best I can do is log on to the WisCon website and look for updates. So please excuse my bout of self-pity and homesickness. There's always next year, of course, but that's so far away.