to the birth of expectations

and being over-looked

Where do babies come from?

Oh my, what a question. Babies bring expectations. One of which is the expectation that we’ll need to endure this discomfort at some point in time as a parent.

Where then do expectations come from? Do they come from babies.

Babies come with far more expectations than you can imagine. Even the process of being pregnant is referred to as expecting.

Did an expecting mother give birth to global expectations?

Is it all Eve’s fault (again)?

All kidding aside, as we explore the limits and pain of human expectations, let’s look at where all of this diabolical expecting business began. For this task, our old friend the etymology online dictionary is a great resource.

(but let’s begin with the more active form of the word)

expect: 1550s, "wait, defer action," from Latin expectare/exspectare "await, look out for; desire, hope, long for, anticipate; look for with anticipation," from ex- "thoroughly" (see ex-) + spectare "to look," frequentative of specere "to look at" (from P…