My Epiphany

I woke up this morning trying to figure out a way to sleep just a little while longer. I thought about coming in an hour later, no one would really cared as long as I also stayed an hour later. Now that didn't sound to good, staying later. So I got up and took my shower and was hit with my morning wave of nausea. All I wanted to do was call in sick and crawl back into the warmth of my bed, but I can't. I am a contractor and do not get paid for my sick days.

As I walked from the subway to my work I started to think about how nice it would be to call in sick. It was then I realized that I can't very well call in sick for the next 6 weeks. I think that would go far beyond any company's policy. That I will need to suck it up. After all I am sure that I am not the first woman to feel like crap during her first trimester and still have picked up and gone in to work. And I know for sure there are women that feel far worse than I do at this point and still go into work.

I started to think about what the point of this morning (but really lasts all god damn day) sickness. Then it came to me. It is to prepare us for motherhood. When you are a mom and you get sick you can't take a sick day from the job of mothering. You still have a husband who needs things and a kid that needs things. And while yes when it was just you and the husband you could justify letting your husband fend for himself for a day. After all he is a grown man, and was taking care of himself before we came into their lives. Yes some of us have spoiled these husbands and they may be out of practice, but if they can't figure out how to get themselves food and dressed and through their days for the day or two you are hibernating off whatever it is you have at the time, well them maybe he wasn't meant to survive.

Now a baby or a child on the other hand is a much different story. It doesn't matter how sick you are, you still need to attend to every thing the baby needs. No the husband can help out as much as possible, but there are things as a mother you still have to do. The mother is the one that the child usually goes to for comfort and soothing. The dad is the fun rough and tumble parent. So your body knows it has to get used to going on even when feeling like you could drop dead at any moment. Morning sickness is your body's way of practicing and preparing you for the next 18 years of your life or more if you have more than one child.

This might also explain why morning sickness might be worse during the second pregnancy from what I hear. Because when you are sick you have to try to be even more attentive. You have to stay focused on the needs of two children. So the next time I feel like I am going to hurl I am not going to curse my unborn child for hating me, I am going to thank my kid for caring enough to prepare me for the next 18 years of life as a mother.