Oh my God.

Today, a friend announced that she was pregnant.

“Oh my God.”

It’s an announcement that arouses a myriad of emotions. It’s like the cork’s been unstopped, the dam penetrated, and a flood of feelings pours out — unstoppable — until you’re left with just the incredible taste in your mouth. Because it is incredible.

Obviously excitement is first and foremost. By nature, the initial response to this news is a giant smile. (Even if, in many cases, the smile quickly fades. This, however, is not such a case.) And it’s just that: news, which, by definition, is exciting.

But there’s concern, too, because you have to wonder, “is she really ok to do this now?”. In reality, is there ever a time when one is completely ready to have a child? Babies are a big deal and most often framed in an idealistic picture of a happily married couple and strong family support. That’s changing now: People have children later, and they’re not necessarily married, and single-parents are more common than ever before. She fits into this growing trend, and while — yea! — she’s on the forefront of social revolution, there’s a reason for the whole “It takes a village to raise a child” thing.

Then there’s the deeper happiness that emerges once the initial shock passes, happiness that another life has the opportunity to experience the world. Happiness that another life is growing within. Happiness at the simple but complex evolutionary wonders that perpetuate the cycle of human life.

And, inevitably, anxiety. Babies announced in week 5 don’t always make it to week 40, and even considering how a friend could bear the unimaginable pain of losing that life inside is simply unbearable. So you don’t think about it.

The optimism takes over — the optimism that this event will change a life, and change it for the better. Being able to give someone so small, so fragile, and so dependent the world… that’s unconditional love. Lucky for she who embraces it.

There’s also a sense of pride. A mother-to-be has remarkable determination. The life-style changes are not small. During pregnancy: Think of the cigarettes left unsmoked, the drinks left undrunk. And after the baby is born, consider the crying in the middle of the night, the responsibilities, the exhaustion. Having a baby isn’t easy; raising it is even harder. But I’m so proud to know that she will take this challenge head on; she can and will do it, and she will do it well.

Finally, after more of the unstoppable parade of emotions and thoughts, it’s boiled down to devotion. It’s her devotion, to this growing thing inside. But it’s your devotion, too. Here’s someone you care about, someone on the brink of a life-changing event, and you want nothing more than to be there. It’s an outpouring of support. Through thick and thin, hard times and easy, joys and pains, and whatever else… she’s a friend, and she’s going to have a baby.

Oh my God. She’s going to have a baby.