I consider family one of the most important aspects of life. My family gave me roots. They’ve grounded me in this ever-changing, overwhelming world. Those who know me well would nod vigorously
in agreement that I definitely pride myself in the fact that half of my
heritage comes from a very large Catholic farming family. The other side—my dad’s side—is boisterous
(perhaps from the Jewish heritage?), yet personal. It’s quite a bit smaller than my mom’s
family, but still full of strong tradition and family values. Regardless of these different families, both
have contributed in some way to the person that I am. And I love that! David, too, has a rich appreciation for
family. He comes from a large military
family on one side; the other a southern farming family. When we married in 2010, starting our own
family wasn’t even a question. Yes, of course we would have kids.
I’d always figured, assumed, taken for granted that one
day I would start a family of my own, to create another generation molded on
the basis of rich traditions from generations past. Now, when I was a naïve, young 20 something I
assumed that I would start making babies as soon as I got married. Crank ‘em out like a machine and then raise ‘em. Oh, I just chuckled at myself as I wrote that…my
values have evolved so much since then!
When David and I were preparing for marriage, we decided
to follow the practice of Natural Family Planning, which organically encourages
us to discern the “right time” to bring new life into this world (more details
on the beautiful practice later). Every
month we evaluated whether our current plans were still applicable. A couple of
times, we discerned through prayer and deep conversation to push back the start
of our family. Many factors went into
this, but primarily we focused on our spiritual and emotional maturity. Were we really in a place to provide a
healthy, stable and supportive environment for this new life?
About six months ago, the time finally came where both of
us said YES—we are ready to take on the scary challenge of bringing a new life
into this world, and loving him or her as best we can. This would be the ultimate acknowledgement of
our love for each other and our love for God.
Don’t get me wrong; we were still terrified by the idea of taking on
such a life-long commitment. After all,
I hear there’s no CTRL+Z (for you Mac people, that’s undo on a ;-), and the
docs don’t accept the receipt for returns.
I don’t know how else to say it, other than it doesn’t
really matter if there’s no CTRL+Z or returns accepted because David and I are
now expecting a little addition to our family this spring, and can’t imagine
turning back!
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| Our sweet little family photo - see the little guy? |
There have been so many
emotions that accompany this change in our lives. I won’t go into them all right now, but as
many women who are mothers already or are also pregnant with their first child
can probably attest, the roller coaster is surprising, maybe even a little
shocking. But most of all, it’s
humbling. I’m growing a person. A person who will be with us in just a few
short months. A person pure and
innocent. This person whom David and I
will strive to raise with all the roots given to us from our own families, and
hopefully with enough grace from God to not screw him or her up too much. J
The mommy-to-be,
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