Week 13

Who says 13 is an unlucky number? That's just ridiculous. Where do ideas like that come from? Some things are cut-and-dry, straight up, no-two-ways-about-it, unlucky: head lice springs into my head. Get it? Dry rot; I don't know what it is or how it's gotten, but getting it can't be fortunate. That said, every rotten thing I've ever seen has had a real nasty, tangy wetness about it. Musty at best. Dry rot must be luckier than your run of the mill juicy moldering, no? You know that thing where you're putting away the dishes and you leave the cupboard door ajar and you go dry another one and you turn around and you knock the dickens out of your head? Bad news, certainly. But keep your eye on the ball for goodness sakes! If you know better and do it anyways, it's not bad luck. Something else. If you're going to rely on "luck" or its converse to take credit for the ins and outs of the day, you'll wind up mistaking every little thing for good or bad, when really it just is. I guess that what I am saying is that it's all in how you see it.

The pickle can only be seen through rose-tinted glasses. In the thirteenth week, that is a lucky thing! What's going on? Well, this is the week when thumb sucking is our pickle's big fixation. By school-age, this could be thought of in problematic terms, but now, now it's a sign that things are progressing.

And then there is body hair: Lanugo hair. At week thirteen the baby is completely covered with the stuff. And we're looking at that as a good thing. For warmth and what have you. When I started noticing body hair about the shoulders and back... let's just say it wasn't my lucky day.

You know, it is what it is. And in week thirteen, the external genitalia is... I don't know, it's external. You have to look away from the ultrasound, as if those things show you anything. Also, the ears are formed and have settled where they're gonna stay. If the Pickle comes out with goofy-looking ears... it's lucky week 13's fault! But we're still looking at it in the best possible light. Goofy ears are no big deal. Look at Will Smith, Tony Blair, and others who became household names, goofball ears notwithstanding! Yep, this is the pickle's luckiest hour!