My staff and I love it when patients send us pictures of their babies. It is a happy reminder that the eggs, sperm and embryos that we see everyday grow up to be very real adorable little people. One of my favorite patients sent me these darling photos of her little girl in a pumpkin patch. Such creativity really stands out amidst all the hundreds of other pictures taken at the Sears studio. But we love those too!
These two pictures especially cheered me up just when I was starting to get a little disillusioned with Halloween lately. I recall how during my younger days in Indiana, we used to fearlessly go trick-or-treating by ourselves, unaccompanied by parents. It was such a time of carefree childhood fun. I'm not sure if those times were safer or if we were just more naive. Our biggest worry at the time was that some bully would steal our bags of candy. I remember one year going out dressed as a little surgeon (no I didn't have the foresight to be a little reproductive endocrinologist). After my younger sister had finished collecting a large pillowcase full of candy, a delinquent gang of high school boys sped by on their bikes and did a drive-by snatching of all her hard work for the night. What I find most memorable about that night came afterwards, when we went back to the same houses with my sister in tears. When the candy-givers learned what had happened, their hearts opened up and they started giving her all their extra candy, even going back to the kitchen to get the "good stuff". That year, my sister wound up with ten times the candy that she usually got.
Nowadays, besides being just a reminder of how unsafe the world has become for children, Halloween seems to have grown into just another opportunity for girls to dress provocatively in public. I've attended a few parties these past few years where I noticed the recurring theme of girls dressed in actual lingerie, but then adding a pair of large wings so they could turn it into some sort of "slutty angel" outfit. Times have changed.
Still, I know that my cynical Halloween comments won't even faze those of you with kids one bit as you witness their little smiles today. As for those of you who are yet to have kids yet, this is why we in the fertility field work so hard doing what we do, so that hopefully, everyone who wants to be a parent will get their chance. Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone. =)
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