Hello folks who wonder if putting on socks when you're pregnant should be part of the next Olympics,

Anticipation, not accomplishment, is what makes life worth living. Let that absorb for a second while I sip my overpriced, oversweetened, overmarketed, pumpkin spiced latte made by an overworked barista. Aah, the only thing that prepares me for the doom and gloom of the upcoming winter.

So, where was I? Oh, yes. The joy of anticipation is why we get all giddy when trying to guess if Taylor Swift will show up for the next football game #swiftie4life, what upgraded sensor will be included in the selfie camera on the next iPhone or what new deals will show up on Amazon prime day this year. You see, anticipation is often free from disappointment or uncertainty that can accompany a pursuit of a goal. When you finally get what you wanted, it might not live up to the perfect picture you had it in your mind, leading to disappointment.

In that vein, anticipation during pregnancy is a whirlwind of emotions that expectant parents go through. The uncertainty and occasional worries about the future can cast shadows but they are quickly dispelled by the hope that this baby will solve all problems in the world including lowering gas prices, improve public transit and fix climate change.

Anyways, I keep getting distracted. So, finally I found my chopsticks neatly tucked away in their carrying case, but when I open the case I saw this beside the chopsticks.

And then split it open.

Here is one of many precious bundles of joy cuddling with my index finger.

After that relationship soured (we disagreed on which Taylor Swift song is the best - irreconcilable differences)  and I paid away half of my assets in child care, I wanted to experience the joy of being a new parent again. So, I went hunting in the wild to see if I can find any volunteers. And as luck would have it, I stumbled across this.

Marbled cellar spiders are dedicated mothers and scoff at being called "Daddy Long Legs" by ignorant folks. Thought you might want to know since you want to keep up with the times. After mating with a male spider, the female spiders will carry her egg sac with her fangs while waiting for almost a month for them to hatch.

I was curious how the eggs stuck together but never had the chance to observe it closely until now. On closer inspection, I discovered that silk threads were being used to hold the eggs in place as the spider mom moved around.

While pregnancy is a time of anticipation and excitement, the wait for new family member(s) can also be challenging. It is often a period of emotional and psychological changes. Just awaiting this brood made me crave Taco Bell, so I ended up ordering takeout morning, noon, and night. My doctor disagrees, saying I simply had a hankering for Taco Bell since I was bored, not due to any hormonal changes. Well Doc, I think I'll look to TikTok for medical wisdom from here on out! Day by day, I noticed the spiderlings slowly developing in their eggs, though progress seemed sluggish.

It might look like guarding the eggs is a 24/7 job, but in the middle of the night I stumbled upon it when the mom was getting some well-deserved "me time" while the world wasn't judging. As soon as I pointed the camera and started judging what kind of terrible mom she was, she retreated back to protect her eggs.

After one week passed, I started to see some signs of the babies starting to make their way out. The darker body parts are the abdomen of the spiderlings emerging from the eggs.

Something that I found unusual in how they were emerging from the egg cases was that while some babies were emerging abdomen first, there were others who were coming out head first.

Though they looked nearly ready to emerge, it took another week before the spiderlings fully hatched from their egg sacs. I wonder if they were waiting for their siblings to join them before making their debut. And what a debut it was! Just look at around 50 tiny spiderlings assembled before their mother, huddled together as a family for the first time.

This spider mom wasn't a Swiftie, so I knew this relationship was doomed from the start. Bidding them farewell, I released the spiderlings back where I had first taken them. Here's one of the little ones taking its first steps in the world.