Expecting the unexpected

There was a bit of excitement at the office yesterday. For a few minutes, some of us flocked around Myrna when someone got wind of her being expectant. Myrna's doctor confirmed it last week, and only last week did I find out that she had had two pregnancies already which both ended in miscarriage during the first trimester. "Gulat nga kami eh ("We were really surprised")," she remarked as we milled around her as we heard the news, "inaccept ko na na hindi na ako magkaka-anak" ("I've accepted that I won't ever have children anymore")." That's the reason why she has adopted a young relative of hers; also, she had given away all her hardly-used maternity clothes so she'll need to do some shopping soon. She's 7 weeks on and the bulge is starting to show.

That makes two women in the office pregnant (the other one, Carla, is due to give birth in May)! Hence, everyday I have tangible reminders around me of little human beings growing until they're ready for the world outside their mother.