late night

Hi friends,

Today is almost over and I am so ready for bed.  But committed to a solid 15 minutes.

Today's topic?  I'm not sure...

This morning I received an email message from a former student who is expecting a baby in May and with whom I have communicated about pregnancy and preparing for childbirth.  I always am so excited and happy to talk with people who are expecting children and am struck by the fact that, at this stage and station in life, being pregnant is consistently happy and welcome news.  In the instances when it's not welcome or happy, I don't know or hear about it.  I am sure that I have friends and acquaintances who have had unwanted pregnancies in the recent past, but I note that there is a definite shift from the teens and 20s when most people I knew were trying to avoid getting pregnant.  Having lived through those years, as well as the experiences of dealing with unwanted pregnancies, it really is a sea change to have all these people I know so able to be publicly happy about their pregnancies.

I remember being in high school and on a lunch hour off campus with my friend Rachel.  I remember it like it was a year or two ago instead of TWENTY YEARS.  Sheesh.  We were at Upper Crust Bakery and there was a visibly pregnant woman in line. I exclaimed to Rachel that I found it so strange to see pregnant women out in public because it seemed like such incontrovertable proof of their having had sex.  Rachel thought I was absolutely loony, but tried to best to get what I was getting at.  When I reflect on that moment and what all was going on with me, it does in fact seem loony, but also entirely sane, given our general US culture and the culture of my upbringing.  I think it also reflects how closely sex and pregnancy were stuck together in my mind.  It was hard for me to imagine having had sex (or, more importantly, been sexual) and having everyone I came in contact with know that fact.  In my high school years, sex and sexuality were so private, secretive, and wrought that they could hardly be talked about.  And I know that's a cliche, but it's also true.  That protruding stomach was much the same as a G-string and pasties, so far as I was concerned.  But even worse, in some ways, since there was evidence of vaginal penetration -- the Real Deal. 

Man, what a culture we live in.

There's much more to say, but it's been 15 minutes and I also can barely keep my eyes open.

Peace,
Briana