Pregnant or Not, Here I Go

There is nothing a pregnant person can't do, as long as the burgeoning belly doesn't get in the way. Today I got back on a bicycle. I didn't have a choice. I needed to get somewhere two miles away. Not worth driving to give up a coveted parking space only to arrive at my destination and not find a space. Subways and buses don't run directly to where I was going. Walking would have been a bit of a hike. So that left me with the sole choice: ride the bike. I promised myself and on my previous blog about a particular bike ride, that I was never going to get back on a bicycle during the rest of this pregnancy. And here I was breaking my own promise. I was getting strange looks from people on the sidewalks as I peddled past them, my pregnant belly obvious. Where they judging me for doing something as irresponsible as riding a bike while hugely pregnant or just shocked to see a pregnant woman on a bike? Why weren't there more pregnant people on bikes? Was I endangering my baby with my actions? I needed to go on this errand. Why did a little thing as pregnancy have to stand in my way? I explained to my friend that a pregnant woman shouldn't stop doing what she needs to do just because she's pregnant, particularly she should not stop exercising. At least in my case I shouldn't because I'd gain one hundred pounds if I didn't move around somehow. I eat so much that I have to burn off those calories. So now I am going to unpromise all my promises in regards to exercising or movement. Otherwise I will literally turn into the Goodyear blimp. My hugeness shouldn't impede me from doing anything at all, right? Ok, I have no plans to jump out of an airplane or bungy jump. You can cross extreme sports off the list. I have no desire to do those things. But at least I should be able to ride a bike a few miles, lift weights, dance, run, and go to the gym. Baby's just going to have to agree to this. I can also bend down and barbeque, which I did tonight, and pull out dead tomato plants, which I will do tomorrow. The stomach is not going to have its say anymore. I am going to do things while pregnant. Life goes on. I've got meals to cook, food shopping to do, dying gardens to tend, trees to water, miles to exercise, floor cleaning to get done, boxes to store, recycling to drop off, and a four-year old to chase after. No free rides or special treatment for me.