Corona Letters #40

I've been thinking about pregnancy a lot lately.

Not because I miss being pregnant, oh no, not that at all.

I just keep thinking of what is expected of a pregnant woman and how most women are willing to comply with what they must do, and the sacrifices they must make for their baby to be born healthy.

Let's break this down.

A full term pregnancy lasts about 9 months.

When a woman is pregnant she can't smoke, drink alcohol, eat sushi, have caffeinated coffee or tea, and I'm sure other things have been added to the list since I was last pregnant almost 21 years ago.  Sometimes there are foods that a pregnant woman is averse to, it might make her throw up even, so she has to give that up too.  There are even activities a pregnant woman has to give up that she might have enjoyed before, things like biking, running and bungee jumping.  It can seem like a long nine months sometimes but it's absolutely worth it to be blessed with a healthy baby at the end of the journey.

And, for the most part people try to not be ass-holes around pregnant women.  They will refrain from smoking in her presence and might offer her a seat on a public bus.   Those who love her most might even go as far as to abstain from all food and drink that she must abstain from in solidarity.

I understand that not everyone is so kind, but I do believe that for the most people, the pregnant woman most of all, want to help protect the baby within.

I do have a point here.

Right now, our world is a swollen, pregnant belly and we are all the baby within.

It seems likely that in the next nine months or so a vaccine will be found and this excruciating life we are all leading will be over.

So can't we just spend this time taking care of ourselves?

By wearing masks?

By making school remote and not putting our teachers and students at risk?

By social distancing when we can?

By keeping ourselves healthy so doctors/nurses and all the medical professionals are not completely overwhelmed?

By doing what we can to keep the most vulnerable safe?

And by refraining from going around like things are normal when they are absolutely not?

It's just nine months for goodness sake.

And if we're lucky at the end of that time we will be healthy and surely we will say that it was worth the inconveniences.

Any woman who has suffered a miscarriage or delivered a stillborn will tell you all the things that she wished she did differently (even though in most cases, it wouldn't have changed the outcome)

We absolutely have the opportunity to make a difference and have a good outcome.   Can't we just do that?

Let's give ourselves a nice, comfy seat on the bus and try not to be ass-holes to each other.

AND WEAR A MASK!