Abstract to Reality

When the whole “facts of life” were first explained to me, they made perfect sense. Sperm and egg combine. Cue cell replication. 9 months later, out comes a fully formed baby. They have computer simulations that show the whole thing. Makes perfect sense.

But, the other day I was watching my wife’s belly as the baby was moving around. At this stage is clearly visible ripples. My first thought was the standard geek thought “looks like an Alien is about to pop out”. This was followed by, no, there’s a baby in there. There’s. A. Baby. In. There. An actual human baby is inside my wife’s belly. Just sitting in there, hanging upside down inside a sack of fluid. WTF?

The whole concept of how human life is created shifted from abstract idea into reality. It’s just so bizarre and fascinating. Cells turn into a person.  There is a person living inside another person. Boggles the mind.

Perspective is a funny thing. I’ve known lots of people who’ve had babies. But my little sister is only 3 years younger than me so I was to young to remember that. And everyone else has been friends or family who have been far away during the process. It’s been weird to think of my sisters or friends from high school as being pregnant and now Mom’s. But due to the distance, it was always still pretty abstract. Even after meeting the kid.

But now, perspective has shifted. While I still haven’t quite come to terms with the idea of being a Dad, the whole pregnancy concept has taken on a whole new level of reality.