Oh, and by the way

I'm starting to realize that pretty soon we're going to have to start telling other people The Big News. I thought it would be pretty hard to keep it a secret for this long, but it turns out it's become easier as time goes on. Part of it has to do with my inability to let myself fully enjoy this because I still feel like I have to be cautious. But part of it is because I'm not all that comfortable with being the center of attention. If I could announce to my co-workers in January, "Oh, and by the way, starting next month, I'll be out of the office for about three months," then I'm pretty sure I would. I'll of course want people to politely ask how I'm doing and all that, but I dislike having a big fuss made over me when it puts me on the spot. Lots of people come up with "cute" ways of announcing their pregnancy to friends, family, and co-workers, like making cupcakes or framing an ultrasound photograph or giving them baby booties, but that's just not me at all. Even some of the people I work closely with didn't know I was engaged until a few months after it happened because I just didn't want to make a big deal in announcing it. It's not because I wasn't excited about it--and that's the same case here--but front and center is not where I like to hang out.