There are few things I like more than social networking with other mom’s from around the world. We have an unspoken understanding about how complex, yet rewarding being a mom actually is. I always had this sappy little dream of what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’ and it went a little like this: House with a white picket fence, dog & kids playing in the yard, mom stays home with the kids while dad works. Yes, I’m abit old-fashioned. Yes, I love the ‘old-school’, 50’s style, nuclear family ideals. Albeit, what I ended up with is much more modern…
Mom is single, works part-time in a karate dojo and has a cat. Soooooooo, needless to say my dream has yet to come true, but in some sort of ironic fashion I love how things have worked out! Because I ended up being what I always wanted more than anything else: a mommy.
I’m very fortunate. I wasn’t suppose to be able to have children. When I did get pregnant, my OB flat out told me, “Jennifer, you need to prepare for the worst. There is no way you are going to carry this baby.” And wouldn’t you know it, at 7 1/2 months, after complications galore I fell in the shower and put myself into early labor. Insert a little, “Go figure” here – I surely did. After twenty long hours I gave birth to my light, my daughter, Alexis.
I was able to hold her for all of 5 seconds before they rushed her off to NICU. I didn’t get to hold her after that until 3 days later; nor feed her until she was 5 days old; or take her home until she was 10 days old. However, she was worth every single second and I count my blessings as things could have turned out much, much worse.
As you can imagine, she’s pretty well spoiled, but she also has a heart of gold. We’ve been through a lot and we’ve both learned things along the way. Although there’s one thing that is consistent in our lives and that is the mere fact that we will always have each other. We’re a great team with a wonderful future in store for us and the journey is highly anticipated. It’s been a heck of a ride thus far!
