I can't believe that I forgot to write about my neice's baptism last Sunday! I guess it's because it didn't affect me in a negative way. I wasn't emotional, and I was very happy for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. There was a small family gathering to celebrate later that evening, and I got my turn to hold my niece. I rocked her, smiled at her, and talked to her, and I felt okay. It really was a nice day for me. Last night, however, that is an entirely different story.

There was a meeting at church last night that I had to attend. The girls' club leaders were planning out our last three meetings of the school year. When I got there, two of the ladies were already there, and they were talking about morning sickness. The older woman has two children; the younger woman has been married for a couple years and would love to have a baby. Of course, I immediately started thinking that the younger one was pregnant. I didn't really want to hear it, because then I would be alone. The one person at church who I know is facing primary infertility would be pregnant.

After my initial shock about the topic, which is definitely one of my least favorite, I went over in my mind what the younger one had said. She said that morning sickness is something she worries about getting. She didn't give any indications that she is pregnant now by saying that she expects to have it soon, or that she hasn't had it yet.

By then the older one began talking about the morning sickness she had with her two children. While she was explaining how she had morning sickness through most of her second pregnancy, I decided that the younger one probably wasn't pregnant. I was sure one of them would have announced her pregnancy to me by then if she really was pregnant. I began to feel a little more at ease. I still was a little on edge, because whenever the topic of pregnancy comes up, I am always worried that it might bring about questions of my own non-pregnant status.

The older woman went on and on and on, talking non-stop about her two pregnancies and deliveries. Of course the other woman and I couldn't add to the conversation, having never experienced pregnancy ourselves. We nodded and smiled and made appropriate comments. I kept looking at the door, hoping that the other two ladies would arrive soon so our meeting could begin.

Finally the older woman completed her pregnancy and birth stories, and realized that the others hadn't arrived yet. When we went to our meeting room, she looked at the clock and saw that a half hour had passed! No wonder I was going crazy by then. Listening to thirty minutes of pregnancy stories is too much to handle when you desperately want to be pregnant yourself.

The older woman left to phone the other leaders, and the younger woman and I were left alone to talk. I wondered what she would say, but our conversation ended up having nothing to do with pregnancy. I still have thoughts that she really might be pregnant, because I really don't know how those two ladies started talking about morning sickness in the first place. But if she is, I guess she doesn't want me to know about it yet.

You'll never guess what happened at school today. My student told me that her pregnant sister had thrown up seven times one day last week. She threw up her dessert, then she decided she was hungry and ate some more. "Wonderful!" I thought sarcastically, "I'm an expert at listening to stories about morning sickness. Tell me more..."