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I’d like to talk about my family this week.  From the outside, I think we look “normal.”  We definitely didn’t start out that way.

I met Andy when I was twenty-six.  I was wild.  I’d been dating everyone in the tri-county area for…a while.  By the time he came along, I was done with men.  One of my friends wanted to set us up, but I didn’t want to be set up.  I reluctantly agreed to meet him.
As soon as I saw those dimples, I was a goner.

Andy and I dated for a few months, but I was getting ready to move away (which is why I didn’t want to be set up) so I took steps to break up with him.

Then I found out I was pregnant.

It was rough.  We didn’t get back together just because I was carrying his child.  I’d already determined marriage wasn’t for me.  Well, neither were kids, but…the universe and my uterus had other plans.

Andy still came with me to every single doctor’s appointment.  We did the Lamaze thing (I don’t recommend it.  At least, not in the awkward circumstance with your ex-boyfriend) and overall, he was great.  We just had other issues, and I wasn’t ready to commit to him because of that.

Adele was born on February 12, 2006.  She was perfect.  Andy bought me flowers.  I’ll never forget how wonderful I felt after I had that baby.  The Vicodin had nothing to do with it.  Okay, maybe a little.

Andy began sleeping on the couch in my apartment to help with the baby.  We’d wake in the night together and stay up with her.  

One night it happened.

We were back in love.  I was ecstatic.  Sure, the pre-marital counseling we went through told us eleventy times the odds are against us because first came the baby carriage, then came love…then marriage.  But so far, so good.
Eleanor was born on December 31, 2008.  I loved it because Andy got to experience every single thing with me during this pregnancy.  We were a family.  

My kids couldn’t be more different.  Eleanor is a ball of energy like Andy.  Adele is already a writer like me.  It’s been amazing to watch them grow up.  I never thought I’d have this, and not a day goes by that I don’t fully appreciate everything about it.

Andy and I are also polar opposites.  He’s country, I’m city.  He’s laid-back, I’m an overanalyzing lunatic.  I think we balance each other out, though.  I never thought I’d end up with someone like him, but I feel so lucky that I did.  I love and cherish everything about him, and I need to tell him that more often.  We have so much fun every day, just joking around, being goofy.  Sure, we fight.  But making up is great.

So while I might not have the most unique family on the planet, it is very special to me.  I love them all so much my heart could burst just thinking about them.  This almost didn’t happen.

I thank sweet merciful Jesus every day that I was careless with my birth control.