The Dry Lie

So, I have a little confession to make about a previous post. The truth is, I didn't really give up alcohol for Lent. Granted, I haven't had a drink since Ash Wednesday. But I actually quit drinking on Jan. 31 — the day I found out I was pregnant. I'm due Oct. 7!

As you can see, when I'm sober, I really can keep a secret. But keeping a secret in the age of Facebook and Twitter ain't easy. Especially if you choose to share the news early on with family, but not others. Women usually wait until they're 12 weeks along before telling people about their pregnancy because the rate of miscarriage is higher during the first 12 weeks. And although I don't mind if my relatives and close friends know about such things, I'd rather not broadcast it to all my co-workers, high school friends I haven't talked to in 10 years, or random online peeps from Facebook and Twitter that I've never actually met.

Making matters a bit more complicated was the way I chose to tell my co-workers. You might remember the little video and Web site I made last year for a video contest at work. With a big assist from my co-spy Tegan, we made another little video (embedded below) announcing my impending mommyhood. Finding a good time to shoot and edit the video took some time. So by the time I sent it out to my office, I had already started telling lots of friends and family the news. Worried that they might spill the beans online before I told work—and not wanting to email all of them to keep things under wraps for another two weeks—I ultimately resorted to turning off comments on my Facebook page and not using Twitter for a week. Not easy for someone who tweets about 10 times a day.

Thankfully, all that sneakiness is done now. I'm just glad that I don't have to lie to anyone anymore (at least, not about this. I still might lie to you about whether or not you look cute in those jeans, or your offensive body odor.)

But seriously, like I would give up drinking for Lent?


There's Something in the Water... from Sarah Wunder on Vimeo.