A New One

You know how when you became pregnant--especially once you became visibly pregnant-- it suddenly became acceptable for perfect strangers to ask you very personal questions, give unwanted (and often absurd) advice, and even TOUCH your stomach. As women, this is just something we deal with for a few months. If we're lucky, after the baby is born we only have to deal with the occasional "Awww how old's the baby?" The more personal questions and certainly the touching become far less common. The other day, though, I was floored by a question asked of me about my children. Seeing Owen, my oldest, next to 5-month-old Cole, a woman commented on how very alike they look. This is not the uncommon part. They do look very alike, and I usually respond to that comment with "Oh, you should see Owen's baby pictures. They're nearly identical to Cole." The odd thing was that this woman continued to look at them for another moment and then asked, "Are they in vitro twins?" At first I laughed, thinking she was making a joke. I made some snarky comment about Cole just sticking around in the uterus for 5 extra years. Then, I was shocked when I realized she was serious. A woman, a total stranger to me, had asked if Cole had been the frozen embryo twin to his brother. Now whether he was or was not, I ask, is that any of her damn business? Maybe I'm overreacting. But I thought that was way over the line.

Cole

Owen