From here to Maternity (Leave)!

6 weeks! 6 weeks! Woo hoo! That's right, 42 days till my maternity leave!
Some of the more astute people may be scratching their heads and wondering why in the world I'm starting my maternity leave 5 days AFTER my due date. Primarily, it's because I'm a first time mom and I know I will go over my due date. It also coincides nicely with leaving for the Thanksgiving holiday. There are financial reasons, too. If I work up until the Thanksgiving holiday I will get paid time off for Thanksgiving just like any other employee. However, if I leave the office before Thanksgiving I won't get paid automatically for those days. I'd have to use days from my cache of PTO or go without pay.
Also, since a due date is basically impossible to pin down, it's easier to get excited about a day that I can say will definitely happen as opposed to counting down to my due date and then getting deflated during every day that passes.
6 weeks! 6 weeks! I can do this!