Leeches...

My brother commented on my last entry saying how it was an advantage to being male that he'd never have to worry about a kid leeching nutrients from him. LOL! Women talk a lot about how they wish their husbands understood what it's like to be in their shoes - in terms of physical experiences they have based on their womanhood as well as how often they become the primary caretakers of any children a couple may have. Anyway, I was trying to think of a good, non-sexist comeback on why I have an advantage as a woman...and I came up dry. I like being a girl, but I suppose there really are some aspects of being a woman that, on some level, do seem a tad unfair...

When I was working at a crisis pregnancy center, I got a little education on STDs and learned something that had never occurred to me previously: Due to the plumbing of guys and girls respectively, it's much more likely for a woman to get than give an STD and much more likely for her to be symptomatic and suffer long-term ill effects. If she and a guy get together and their union results in pregnancy, she's the one who experiences the pregnancy and must ultimately make the decision on whether she will intentionally choose to carry the pregnancy to term...and how she would like to proceed at that point as well.

I'm not really a huge fan of STDs, for the record, so it does seem a bit lame that a girl would have a greater likelihood of unpleasant and far-reaching effects than a guy who engages in the same activities. But I do think it is a privilege that my sex gets to experience the growth of life within us and nourish our babies. And I'm really grateful that my husband has given me the opportunity to do so without having to bring in an income while tending to my adorable little leeches. ;-) That is a luxury few people in the world have and I don't want to take it for granted...