Being Pregnant

There is a fabulous phenomenon with being pregnant. First of all, it's a blessing to harbor a little life inside your body and to know that God is creating a brand new being from within you. It is a reminder to me every moment of the day that my life is not my own. I am constantly aware of how my actions affect the inside of the womb. Whether it be the pickled okra I ate when I got out of bed last night, or the heightened stress from bumper-to-bumper traffic on my way to the OB, or just the amount of time I stay sitting at my desk, there is no escaping the baby's absorption of my life.

Now of course, there is the other side of pregnancy, which we'll call the "lesser glamorous side". Which equates to driving to the grocery store in sweat pants and an old alumni college sweatshirt, Birkenstock clogs and RED SOCKS. [Oh yea... they were comfy and clean and they didn't rub against my ankle, so I wore them. I am not sure why one owns red socks, but I know I got mine at a cute little retailer in Hakkodate, Japan and they have fun yellow stars on them.] The Lesser Glamorous Side also means being late to work because you couldn't convince yourself that breakfast was most delicious the first time.

It also equates to a whole new level of razzing, of which I'm not quite sure where people come up with this stuff. The moment I told people that Joshua and I were expecting, the whole slew of questions came out, the worst of which I dare not repeat but it made me aware of people's lack of understanding in God's greater design. On one particularly rough day after absorbing more than a "fair" share of hurtful comments, a maternal co-worker told me: "just ignore comments that come from ignorance". Though it seemed basic, it has taken me three weeks to adopt it as my own and understand its application.

With only a mere 10 weeks under my belt (pun intended), the learning curve is quick but I'm happy to be along for the ride. Now if only I could convince my breakfast to hang in there with me...