Al +Val= Me

to me having children is as sci-fi as it gets. to think that for 9 months something is growing inside of you, attached to your body, feeding off your grub, kicking around, and having weird baby thoughts. it's all a big mystery to me, like electricity. completely.100%.goes over my head. 1st trimester-fertilization.jubilation! implantation.starry-eyed expectations.2nd trimester-baby begins to seem more real, now rather than being told you have a human growing inside you, you feel the thingamabob.nausea. 3rd trimester- pregnancy can be tiring and uncomfortable. Understand how to relieve your symptoms and anxiety as your due date approaches. all to similar to my marathon experience this past weekend. 1st mile-unjustified confidence and excitement, not considering in any shape or form what lies ahead. 2nd mile- wow, good for me, in fresh air, using my god-given body as an instrument of action!a good 20 feet ahead of mom, dad and cousins. 3rd-9th mile-uh, when's the first rest stop, i heard there are blueberry bagels and power bars.hmm.yum. 10th mile-YES, made it to food tent.cute college boy working it.i'm not in college anymore, i can't think that,right? ready to go, i'm fueled. 11th-23rd mile-starting to feel the tedious movements creep up to my butt, knees and back. worry about posture and if this is going to sabotage my past two weeks of yoga. i look hunchback and every time i try to straighten my back out, almost lose control of bicycle. cousin lauren takes a spill on damp leaves.gets taken back by two cute first aid men and has a very legitimate excuse to retreat back to inactivity. ah, kinda jealous. mile 24-Haallelujah there's apple pie and ice cream at the rest stop.the porta potties are vile and i can't help but stare down at what they've collected. humans are disgusting. i wish i hadn't just eaten the pie and ice cream. mile 24-35th-okay there's pain. it's not overwhelming, i knew this would happen. begin to meditate to the rhythmic clicking of my wheels and look down at the ground as i pedal. hear from up ahead, "annie how's your rear end doin??" it's mom, she can sense my mental and physical deceleration. and my rear, it hurts, so fucking much. mile35-43-pain.the fucks start coming out. who the fuck in their right fucking mind does this fucking shit for fucking fun! dad slows down to encourage me. shut the fuck up, i can't fucking talk right now,i'm in fucking pain. poor man, i'm so cruel. but so not apologetic. my mom decides to deal with me instead. mile 44-55- 12 year old me has manifested. pain,my knee hurts.try to meditate.i think about kite runner(the book i'm currently reading. if they can deal with excruciating, inhumane pain, why the hell can't i do a 60 mile yuppy-ass ride. continue demoralizing myself in efforts to motivate. the last SAG bus comes by to offer to drive us back, my mom bugs me to go, i say SHUT UP I'M NOT GETTING ON STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME QUIT. the bus leaves and says, HAVE FUN.yeah, sure. i bitch out my poor, wonderful, caring and fit mother while i focus on the sharp cones my ass has become. I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. but i continue the attempt to finish, because there are only 6 miles left. mile 56-done.get off my bike,sit cross-legged on the side of the road and apologize to mom and dad for my absurd behavior and get shuttled back to normalcy. a few hours later after a maryland clam chowder, a crab cake sandwich and three coconut cornbread biscuit thingies, i realize, i could totally do this again! but back to pregnancy. it's so weird that i'm made up of my mom and dad. i know people say it's science, but i just think it's magic. i mean sure we know the processes that it involves and the chemicals and shmemicls that create it's elegant design, but really, it's just so odd that one day a baby is going to pop out of my feminine region and viola-mine and someone else's human will be born. whoa. so for this entry, i am paying homage to the people that made me, Alan(Al) and Valerie(Val)..i know, too cute right. there are certain things about them i adore and their little quirks, like the kitchen windowsill of chachkes both independent yet always committed. curious, caring and inspiring, al and val have been with me every step of the ride :)