Yay! I'm pretty sure that I ovulated yesterday (cd 12). It's going to be a shorter cycle for me this month, 25 or 26 days. I really want to get this cycle over with so we can TTC again.

I almost feel normal again. Sometimes I get tired at school when I stand too long. Once I sit down, I feel okay. My body bruises are turning yellow now, and only the area around my belly button is sore when it is rubbed. I don't notice it much when I walk or climb steps. I actually am moving quickly, even jogging, instead of going slowly and steadily.

Sunday night a friend told me, in a near whisper, she had heard I had been gone from school and she wondered what was going on, that is, if I would tell her. She's the friend that I usually get together with once a year in the spring, and we have a "girls' talk." The last time I had a talk with her about my infertility was last spring (April, I think), just before we found out the results of my husband's sperm analysis. She suffered from two years of infertility before conceiving her first child, and she is one of those people who I know is praying for me and my struggle.

When she talked to me on Sunday, we were surrounded by crowds of people. While I was thinking of how to respond to her, a student of mine who rushed up to tell me she had met her reading goal for the month. I was glad I hadn't said anything yet! After the student left, I told my friend a little bit of what was going on. I told her just enough so she would know what I was talking about, but if anyone else heard, they wouldn't have a clue. I said I had some things checked out, that they had found something, and that it should be of help. She plans to have a get-together at her house in two weeks, so I told her I'd give her the details then.

Yesterday I talked to my principal/friend after school and told her how my surgery went. She told me that she is getting bloodwork and an ultrasound this week to see if they can spot any reasons why she isn't getting pregnant. Her husband is getting a semen analysis this week too. She said the hardest part about going to the doctor and having things checked out is that you are acknowledging that there is a problem. No longer can you ignore it or deny it; you must admit that you really are experiencing infertility.

We talked about how curious people are. She said that a mother had called her to ask her something. Then the mother said she had heard from her daughter (my student) that I was having surgery, and she wondered how I was doing. My principal/friend said that I was doing okay. The mother said again (she was really pumping to get information), "No, is she really okay?" My principal/friend said that I was just having minor outpatient surgery, nothing to worry about. The the mother said she guessed that if it was something serious, they would have been told about it. My principal/friend agreed with her.

If there is one thing I've learned over the last year, it's that you should be very careful about what you ask people. What you may think is an innocent question, may not be so comfortable to the other person. I will never again ask someone when they plan to have kids or when they are thinking about getting married. I won't ask someone why they can't participate in something or why they will be gone. In most situations it's better for people to volunteer information.

I still have a student who is trying to figure out "where" my surgery was. If I rub my forehead, she thinks it was on my head. If I ask someone if they heard me blow the whistle, she thinks it's something in my mouth! I don't answer her questions about what it may or may not be. I keep telling her that I have told her as much as I am going to tell her. Kids!!