Alien Encounter

I've been thinking a lot lately about how humbling this whole reproduction thing is. It's such a primal experience; it's bigger than all of us. I mean, I'm fairly used to feeling in control of my body. If I eat well, I feel good. If I don't exercise, it's hello Fatty Fatso.

I realize that I've been lucky enough to avoid diseases that seem to strike some people without reason, so my sense of control is, in fact, a house of cards. Yet until recently that's been my feeling.

But now...there's another person inside of me. Let's pause for a moment to appreciate just how out of my normal realm of experience this is. A few-celled organism latched onto my insides and started growing exponentially. How weird is that?

And things are only going to get weirder, or so I hear. I feel a bit like that poor sap in Alien who thought he'd escaped the alien encounter just fine, was eating dinner with his crewmates, and then WHAM! The creature burst through his chest.

I suppose this is where I should stop to assure my future baby: I do not think you are an alien. You are wanted and loved, and you will not be battling Sigourney Weaver any time soon. But if you are a girl, maybe someday you'll understand what I'm talking about. And if you're a boy, may your future spouse have more rational thoughts than your mother.