Where Do Babies Come From

To lose the comfort of illusions is uncomfortable and sometimes shocking. But the advantage is that the energy that is tied up to keep the illusion in place, is then made available to empower the individual. This is a time of great disillusionment. But it will retrospectively be seen as the time when humanity evolved into maturation. 

Let me tell you about the uncomfortable time of my disillusionment: 

I was eight and what my mother considered “too young” to have “the talk.” My friend Valdi however was a precocious thirteen. My parents kept a watchful eye on me when it was reported that a serial rapist preying on little girls, was in town. I thought I would ask Valdi what exactly that meant — after all she seemed like a “woman of the world.” She tried to explain in vain, only getting a  “deer in the headlights” look from me. But then she said: “He gives them babies” and my face lit up! I had been asking my middle-aged parents for a baby brother or sister and they had been quite tactful in explaining that I was all they needed (which even to my 8-year-old self seemed mistaken since it was clear that my mother preferred my brother). She looked somewhat puzzled at my expression, but her look soon turned into absolute bewilderment when I said joyfully: “Do you mean one can get a baby for free? Or does one have to pay him? I have some money in my piggy bank!”

I ran home as fast as I could to give my parents the good news: “Mom and dad, I’m going to get us a baby.” My father looked over the edge of his newspaper. “I think it’s time for ‘the talk’,” he said to my mother. She took me into the bedroom where I listened intently as she explained the dynamics of how babies are made.  She thought she was doing quite well until I blurted out in horror: “You and dad did that?!! How rude! What an unimaginative way to make a baby. You told me they came from God and I thought they came down a sunbeam from heaven and appeared in their crib?!” She turned a strange color of red. I asked if she may be mistaken, it was just so disillusioning to find out all in the same day that one has indecent parents and that babies don’t come down sunbeams. I looked accusingly at my parents for several days after that and even snuck up on them once or twice to make sure that no further indecent acts took place in our house. I assured them that I no longer thought another baby was a good idea. It occupied my mind quite a bit, but then my focus shifted to better things like planning my upcoming birthday party — my mother was a master at taking my mind off troublesome topics.