Pregnancy brings about a whole new wave of changes, most of which are to our physical forms, and even then it’s usually through weight gain, nausea, and exhaustion. What I’m finding is that pregnancy is also bringing about changes even with my interests. I’ve managed to cover a lot of the changes that I’ve experienced in previous blogs, but something that I’ve noticed a lot more lately are my reading desires.

I love to read. It is one of my favorite past times. I have always loved to read fiction, as it’s usually my escape from reality. And of course, I love educating myself. I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed going to school and if I could make a career out of going to school, trust me I would. Most of the non-fiction items I would read included The National Review, Vanity Fair, and various current affairs and political history books. However, since the onset of my pregnancy and even perhaps in the months before, I have found myself becoming more and more drawn to books about becoming a mother. Instead of downloading the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel or even a Janet Evanovich, I’m now downloading books about parenting for the first time, being a mother at mid 30, and the first years of your baby’s life. I still keep a subscription to Vanity Fair, but I’ve replaced The National Review with American Baby and Parenting magazines. When I walk into a Barnes and Noble, I immediately head for the children’s section, the educating/homeschooling section, or the section about parenting. I find myself voraciously pouring over these plethoras of knowledge, continuously drinking in anything new I can learn and even possibly blog about. I can’t seem to get enough of them.

Lately, I’ve even gone so far as to buy books for my husband, I suppose hoping for some cute romantic scene of us curled up on the couch reading about babies and parenting together. I’ve even managed to change my priorities for my local literacy association’s annual book sale. The book sale itself is over a month away, but I have explained to my husband that I will immediately go towards the schooling/education section and the children’s books, my plan of attack already mapped out. Of course, my husband did remind me that I’m missing one book in my Nicholas Sparks collection, but that is of no concern to me. I’m more interested in my child having as many books as possible and for him to continously expand his brain and his way of thinking.

This summer my beach reads are going to include my two new favorite magazines, plus an additional book or two about cooking organically and even the terrible twos. I might even throw in an additional non-fiction book written by a new mother. And I can’t help but wonder if these interests will change once Davey is born or are my tastes in reading material forever altered? Who knows, perhaps I’ll write my own book about parenting or my adventures in parenting. Again, another change from my normal writing thanks to Davey. Am I upset about these changes? The old me would have said “yes”, but I think I’ve begun to accept that I’m not who I thought I was, and who I’m going to be is more than just a holder of 3 degrees and the writer of a few short stories. Did I ever imagine this as a possbility for my life, the changes that have occurred? Absolutely not, but out of all of the pregnancy changes I’ve experienced, this is the one I welcome with open arms. No more shallow, theatrical, or drama laced novels to escape my reality. I want to be in my reality and experience it all and that includes the new way of thinking with my reading and writing. I have my son to thank for that.