Oh hi there, if you're still with me.
I've had a hard time posting lately - not only due to competing demands (there have been only two of us in my department handling the workload of four since May), but also due to a certain rather challenging life experience. With such Big Stuff flying around in my head, posting about random minutiae was becoming increasingly akin to lying. Funny that I can aim to maintain a blog, which I guess is - by definition - a public forum for sharing private things, and still be so guarded...
Since this is a somewhat restricted public forum, it's time to get personal. I'm posting this irreverent Top Ten list and linking you to a few meatier articles so that:
- Loved ones who might be looking to find out what's really going on in my life can feel more looped-in;
- Loved ones who are privately struggling with some of the same issues and feelings know to contact me for support;
- Loved ones who have been flattened by a volcanic reaction in response to an innocent reference to babies/children/pregnancy can know: it's not you, it's me;
- Loved ones who bravely broach this subject going forward can don an asbestos suit of tips & tricks.
Some of you have received apologies related to volcanic me in recent months...and if I have blown up/frozen you out but still not apologised properly, please know that you're on my list.
So: check out the Top Ten title, and if you feel uncomfortable going down this road, then feel free to stop reading here - and I'll try to stay light and fluffy in future posts. :-) If, however, anything here resonates with you, please do email or Skype me...am s l o w l y getting more comfortable with the idea of talking about it, and would love to be of help to anyone who needs it.
1. Having sex leads to pregnancy. Having intercourse to get pregnant? How is that even possible?
2. The couple who got pregnant naturally after adopting. Everyone knows someone who knows someone this happened to. Although no one ever remembers the couple’s name.
3. Having sex during ovulation increases your chance of getting pregnant. You’ve had sex before, during and after ovulation - so where’s the baby?
5. The social networking site, Facebook, was developed as a new way to connect with your friends. In reality, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook so that fertiles can post ultrasound photos, belly and newborn shots to further torture infertiles.
6. The Fertility Clinic helps to get people pregnant. If you see a pregnant woman at your fertility clinic, she is probably a paid actress to make it seem like couples are actually getting pregnant.
7. The Fertility Clinic showcases a wall of Thank You cards and baby photos. The babies in the photos are paid actor babies.
8. If you relax, you will get pregnant. In fact: you are more likely to get pregnant after stressing and obsessing over temperature/ovulation charts, blood test results and fertility drug regimens.
9. A decrease in your basal temperature indicates that your period will start soon. A decrease in your basal temperature indicates that you are about to have a complete mental breakdown.
10. You only need one egg and one sperm. You’ve had one hundred eggs and millions of sperm - which resulted in the conception of several bottles of wine, tubs of ice cream and overplaying any of these infertility videos.
