A Geek Perspective on Pregnancy

Part of being a geek is the fulfillment that comes with creating things. Save for the few items that adorned my parent’s fridge in my grade school days, most of the things that I create are not tangible. Some lines of code here… a script there… a database or a network installation. Nothing that you can really put your hands on. But nonetheless, I beam with pride when I see my handiwork in use on computer monitors or printouts.
This got me to thinking today as I sat in front of the computer, digitizing the in utero events of our son. I smiled as I watched his movements on the small LCD of my digital camcorder and organized the scans of his ultrasound pictures in Picasa. It gets more real everyday. Here’s a creation that Danielle and I made, documented in 1’s and 0’s on my computer’s hard drive. And in just a few short months, the face I see on the ultrasound will be able to be held in my arms.
I really can’t explain how it feels. The 5 GB of pictures I have on my computer are all of people I’ve met in person and places I’ve been to. I’ve never met a person through digital pictures before they were born! And yet, there he is, glowing back to me from my LCD. I can’t wait to meet him in person.