The Day We Found Out

I thought I would go back and document the day we got the biggest surprise of our lives and how I told Adam. Like I have said before Adam and I were not planning to have a baby until I finished my masters degree, got tenure at school, and went on a couple of vacations. I was also the first to admit that I had some growing up to do. I tend to have a plan for everything, follow the same exact routine everyday (even eating the same thing for lunch on most days), and come and go as I please. Therefore, you can see how a baby might not fit into that equation.

Around January 20th I got suspicious something was going on. So after I left school the 21st (yes, I know the date…if you had gotten a shock of this magnitude the date would be etched in your mind too) I went through Talladega on my way home and got a test. I have family in Talladega, so I was really careful to cover that item up in the buggy with other stuff. I just knew I would run into some of them, and boy would I have had some explaining to do!! On the way home I had gotten Adam and I Subway, and those of you who know me best know that I ate mine on the way home…I also have a slight issue with being patient when it comes to food and there was no way I could wait to eat until I got home. By the time I got home I could not wait another second to know what was going on. So I left the groceries in the car and ran inside to take the test. My plan was to take the test, go get the groceries, and then check the results. However, the results were pretty much instant…PREGNANT…is the word I recall seeing. I have never felt so light headed before. I sat down in the bathroom and stared for what seemed like days. Us with a baby…what would we do with a baby?? I am the aunt who spoiled her nieces and nephews and then sent them home for their parents to deal with…me with a baby??? My siblings and their spouses were going to ruin my child just to get back at me for all I had done to their children. We weren’t ready for a baby. We were still trying to sell our house in Lineville. I was in the middle of graduate school. We had only been married 2 years! What in the world would we do with a baby?? These are all thoughts that ran through my mind. Then I recalled a statement Adam had made a few weeks prior to this moment. We kept my niece Andi one Saturday and when she left Adam said,

“I’d like to have one.”

“Adam, what would you do with a baby?”

“Play with it and give it back to you.”

And there I was with the word “pregnant” staring back at me. My nephew Brandon had been at our house and when I took him home I came back to find Adam was home from work and so innocently eating his sub. Poor guy, if he only knew what I was about to hit him with. I made the decision that I better wait till he finished his food to tell him. He has quiet the weak stomach and I hated to see that sandwich go to waste. So Adam was eating his sandwich, watching the news while I sat in the chair holding the evidence and waiting for the right moment to change his life. Now that I look back I can’t believe that I waited to tell him! I am usually busting at the seams to tell him any and everything. It took him longer to eat that sandwich than any meal in his entire life. When he finally finished I turned off the TV and said, “I need to talk to you about something. We’re going to have a baby.” He turned very pale, sat up in his chair, and said, “Are you serious?” Instantly, I regretted my decision. I should have let that sandwich settle a little bit longer. I am pretty sure I cried after that and informed him how we were not ready for a baby. He, of course, thought that I should have eased him into that kind of announcement instead of throwing it all at him at once. I’ll keep that in mind next time…if there is a next time. I didn’t want to tell anyone right away so for a week we kept the biggest secret of our lives. I was afraid to talk to anyone because I just knew it would slip out. I decided that it couldn’t be a secret any longer and the next Friday night we made the announcement. It was a couple of weeks after my mom’s birthday and a couple of weeks before Adam’s mom’s birthday. Debbie has wanted a baby since the day we got married, so I knew this would be a huge announcement at their house. We gave her an early birthday gift and gave my mom the same thing as a late birthday present with a picture of the test saying “PREGNANT.”

You probably want to turn the volume down on these videos before you watch it. Adam stood off to the side when each of them opened their gifts with the video camera rolling. I only wish I had had the video camera rolling when I told Adam! If you will notice I had to explain why the camera is on at my parents house because my mom saw Adam had the video camera on…I would also like to go on the record for saying that even though my Mom declares that she had had this on her mind all week and it was not a surprise….her initial reaction proves that she was as shocked as we were!