Unreal

Let me tell you a little story, friends.

Some of you know it, some of you do not.

What reminded me of this story, this blast from my past?  It’s the fact that my little Jace is now the same age as Jude was when this story unfolded.

Here’s a picture of Jude, nearly 5 months old:

My mom is holding him; I adore this picture of her.

And here is a snapshot of what my eyes beheld the day before:

Yep, that’s when we first found out that Jett was on the way.  It’s unreal to think about now.

That day in early August of 2005 – a Friday, I believe – I was busy getting the house ready for a visit from my parents.  They were going to stay overnight at our house for no other reason than to spend time with us and with their new grandson.

I had picked up a home pregnancy test the week before, it was a 2-pack.  The first test had come back negative, but after a week I took the other test and that is the very test you see pictured above.  Josh was aware of my taking the first test and probably breathed a sigh of relief when its results were known; but, he did not know that I was planning to take the other test.  He was at work at the time.

Josh had to stay late that night and help out at an after-work function; I wasn’t about to call him and tell him this news over the phone.  I had to wait.

Meanwhile, my parents showed up.  My sister, too.  We all (everyone except Josh) went out to eat with Josh’s parents that night.  I was bursting at the seams, wanting to tell everyone immediately, but I knew I had to tell Josh first.  At the restaurant, after we were done eating, I invited Josh’s parents to our house.  I knew Josh would be finishing up his after-hours commitment and his workplace was just down the road from where we were, so I invented a reason for my family to drop me off at Josh’s car so I could ride back home with him. 

On the way home, I had Josh stop at a supermarket.  And there in the parked car, before we went inside, I told him the big news.  He didn’t have much to say – he just laughed and laughed and laughed.  I didn’t really have any words either. 

We picked up some champagne while we were at the store and headed to our house where our families would be waiting.

And then, when everyone was gathered in our living room, I began pouring the champagne and told them we were celebrating.  That’s when I dropped the bombshell.

More laughing, smiles, happy tears and hugs from my side of the family.

*Crickets chirping* from the other side.  Poor Jan & Doug – there is no way they could have seen it coming.  No way to prepare for that kind of news.  The next day, after the announcement had fully absorbed, they came around, their looks of horror replaced with… I don’t know… cautious optimism?  They were nice about it, anyway.

I don’t remember being scared, nervous, uneasy, sad about the pregnancy.  Looking back, I probably should have been; not sad, mind you, just fearful – a healthy dose of fear would have been called for.

But no, what did I have to fear?  Jude’s delivery was fairly easy, he was a good baby, he slept alright.  Life was good.

I had minimal housework.  I sat on my unsoiled living room carpet and watched trials unfold on CourtTV, providing the only real drama I could expect in a day.

That baby stuff was a cake walk!  A cinch.  Of course, Jude wasn’t yet mobile.  I had no idea about child-proofing the house, teething, dirty diapers from a boy eating solid foods.  Basically, I knew next-to-nothing about raising a child, let alone two.

Our kids would be somewhere between twelve and thirteen months apart if everything went well, and overall – it did.  We welcomed Jett into the family five days shy of Jude turning thirteen months old.

And the rest is history.