Showering every day is for the birds.
1. Showering every day is for the birds. And my dad.
We children of Thomas Lee Day have three things in common: excellent table manners, an incessant need to close the toilet lid (because what the EFF is it there for if not to be closed?!) and the express desire to shower every day. Every. Single. Day.
After all, we have a dad who reminded us to “Chew with your mouth closed!”-even if it was closed-and who almost religiously lowered the toilet lid–and one who showered morning and night…and maybe even peppered another one in there somewhere else during the day.
With pregnancy, however, showering on any prescribed schedule is out the window because in order to do so, one must not be doubled up on the couch moaning in nausea-astic agony and also must have enough energy to walk from said couch to said shower, during scheduled shower intervals.
While I’m feeling better these days, showers, for me, have become a delightful and refreshing every other day experience, chock full of lots of good smelling shower gels and PssssssT dry hair shampoo. And you know what? It’s alright. I don’t sit there and wallow in my dirt on off days–nor do I stink people out of the house (to my knowledge). Bonus–I’m saving water and valuable time!
2. It’s okay to do things not because they’re logical, but because they feel right.
My lust for the child-rearing part of my life was always hampered by logical concerns such as: how much it costs to raise a child, how motherhood will impair my ability to live the wonderful life I have been living and how my act will affect the broader global spectrum.
And then, a friend of mine said something to me like, “Jennie, having a baby is never logical–no one would ever do it if they were waiting for logic to set in. Having a baby is totally irrational. But, it’s wonderful.”
Moral of the story? There’s a lot in life that wouldn’t get done if we all sat around and waited for logic to set in–some things we do simply because it’s the right time and the right decision. And that’s okay.
3. Even good change causes stress.
When I found out I was pregnant, I fully expected to be leaping around the house in glee. Instead, I found myself somewhat horrified, feeling like crap and seriously questioning why oh why we had just turned our perfect life upside down.
In short, I was really stressed out by this news. Like bad dreams, panicky visions of screaming infants, crying at the doctor’s office stressed out.
But that’s okay. Turns out, the best things in life–the things that make us feel the very best–cause us to feel just as stressed as the things that…make us feel our very worst. And it’s okay to feel stressed in either case because IMHO that just your brain’s way of dealing with really big stuff. I think we actually need stress just to deal.
4. The human body is possibly the world’s greatest machine.
I have a 17.5 week old fetus in my womb that kicks and dances and will eventually be birthed from my loin as a tiny human. Enough said.
5. There is a reason people keep secrets.
Because if they didn’t–many of us might decide to totally skip some of life’s biggest experiences like… skiing (your body is going to hurt like shit the next day) and, well, pregnancy.
Turns out, there’s a lot your friends don’t tell you until you’ve actually conceived (rectal exam in the third trimester, SARAH?!). But that’s probably okay because I might never have taken this little leap of faith if I knew all the intricacies… some things are best left unspoken.
