Mid-Autumn Festival Reveal

Kevin: This pot's so big you could cook a baby in it. Maybe two...
Me: Is this our segue?

Celina: "I'm so happy for you!  I don't want to hold it."
Kevin: "Yay, I'm going to have another cousin.  I don't want to hold it."

What?  Do they think I'm just going throw the baby at them?!

Kevin jumped up from his chair - showing a bit of that excitement that we were hoping for.  Celina's mouth was opened wide smiling.

Regardless of these, I'm glad everyone's so happy... well, maybe except Theresa.  I don't know, my guard is up at every point.

Theresa: "Oh, you're going to be 36 when you have the baby.  That's later that me."

Kevin: "When your kid starts school, Jack and Jeff are going to be so old!"
Me: "Um... so will we..."

Theresa: "When's your due date?"
Kevin: "Darn, that's a school day."
Celina: "It's not like they'd want you there!"
Me: "Um... you guys realise it isn't clockwork, right?"

Mom: "Stop talking about it!"

Right, we wouldn't want to tempt fate, but I think Celina already (within seconds) posted it / shared it with all her friends.

Kevin: "You have to name it after us."
Me: "Kelina?"
Paul: "Celvin?"

Maybe not.

The day after...

Mom calls.

"Good news: We have all these things saved up from when your sisters were pregnant, so you don't have to buy new, go through the stuff and see what you need."

And then... more of the same nagging, "When are you going to get a car?  It's going to be all icy, and that walk of yours to the bus stop is so far away.  And you're not volunteering right?  ... Can you hear me?" 

"Yes.  I can.  And I only have the same answer.  It's tiring and tedious for me to answer the same thing over and over.  So if you want to really talk and not just lecture me, ask me real questions." 

"Don't get upset!  It's bad to get stressed."

Telling the Parents

Telling Jackie: 

Me: "I don't know what to say."
Paul: "Lana's pregnant!"
Jackie: "Oh....." (Followed by happy crying.)

Telling my parents:

My mom runs through her daily questions and speeds into her closing speech when I stop her: "Wait!  I have something to say.  Actually, Paul and I have something to say."

Mom: "Oh, I didn't think you had anything to say."

Me: "You know how you always say I should get / a baby... well, I've got one..."
(It was something in between, "I'm preggers" and "I'm gestating" (I didn't want to say I "have joy!"))

Mom: "Congratulations!  Congratulations!  I'm so happy.  Every night I worry about you, and now my heart is lighter.  I can't wait to hold the baby..."

Me: "That's great Mom.  Have a good sleep tonight.  Yes... yes..."

Mom: "... Oh, so don't eat cold foods.  Eat more nutritious foods... more eggs... don't do so much volunteering, you'll tire yourself out... and don't stay out so late..."

Yes.  Indeed almost in one breath it was I'm so happy and here's how you need to live now.  I don't like how (once again) my body is not my own.  But I know I have to fight my rebelliousness... because it's true, what I do is important and has great repercussions.  But it shouldn't belong to everybody... I know the judging will start.  I can't avoid it any more.

Today's horoscope (eerily accurate):
No matter how persuasive you may be with others you can no longer fool yourself that things can stay as they are.  Both at work and in your private life there will have to be changes.

Some people are jerks

Two of our sunflowers have been decapitated!  All that hard work and potential gone!

I'm angry and sad.

"They" also took / vandalised Erica's.

She tells me how as kids, she and her sister did that once too (cut off other people's sunflowers).  But they felt so guilty she went back and tried to duct tape them back on.

Well, I hope whoever did it to us feels guilty too.  Hrmph!

I can't think of a way to protect the other two.  :(

Sunflowers - Surprise!

Paul: You grew these from seed?!  How did they get so tall? 
Me: Well... I watered them... and they grew.  

Paul was perturbed: these giants had been growing in our backyard without him noticing at all!  I was amused.  And proud.  At one point they were just tiny seedlings and I'd managed to keep them alive!  Can hardly wait for them to bloom.

These little guys in the front yard seems much more to his liking... perhaps because they're more reasonable in size?  

Changing. Clothes.

Did I really actually feel zen and good about my body changing?  That I was feeding and nourishing it?

Well, not any more.

It's still early days and already... ugh...  My clothes are feeling tight -- and some just don't fit -- and I'm panicking: What if I never fit back into them again?

That makes me sad.  My beautiful clothes!