Pregnancy, the new normal

I've realized something this weekend..... normal is in the eye of the beholder. Wait, scratch that... I knew that already, but it was emphasized this weekend :)

I had the distinct pleasure of spending time every day this weekend with a different group of people that I hadn't seen in awhile. It was great getting to see old and new friends that we just haven't had any face time with during the vacation/ moving / family in town portion of this year :) The main topic of conversation? Pregnancy. People love to talk about it! The most fun is to talk about it with girls who have never been pregnant. I'll admit, it's like this big secret that nobody fully tells you about before you get there. I mean, sure... I knew that swollen feet happened.... did I know that I would spend my whole third trimester in flip flops? (or at least I hope I will... they are getting tight, so people at work may have to be ok with me showing up in slippers soon :P) not so much :) The funny thing is, I'm used to it.. all of it now. And when something new comes up, I just add it to my new normal list and move on... it hardly fazes me anymore.

My new hobby is answering non-preggers' questions about pregnancy and watching their jaws drop and their faces fill with horror. I think the constant change and barrage of weird stuff going on in your body during pregnancy just prepares you for being a mother. I mean, think about it.... what is parenthood if not unpredictable and full of amazing joys as well as very unpleasant situations. You get through the unpleasantness because you love your kids, and you put up with pregnancy for the same reasons.... the reward is so much greater than the sacrifice could ever be.