Sound the Trumpets!

The early morning hours of a late April day were a blur. Millions of thoughts weren't running through my head. There were no tears. Emotions were subdued. My breathing was normal...until...I was awakened.

My wife, Nikki, woke me up from a sound slumber (something I don't have a problem with since becoming a dad over four years ago) and said, "I need you to take a look at something in the bathroom." My immediate thoughts included, "Huh?" as well as "What?" After the hamster did a few stretches and took a sip of coconut water, he found his workout playlist on his second gen iPod (he's stuck in 2005) and bumbled onto the wheel.  

I stumbled the 14 feet to the bathroom and expected to find a otherworldly bug staring at me from an impossible angle in the deepest recesses of the lavatory. There he'd stare. Where no flip flop or preschooler shoe could reach. If I were desperate, I'd have to Air Wick him until he jumped behind the toilet and ran into a unreachable void.  

Except there was no bug. I briefly scanned the room until I heard her say, "on the counter". I tried to focus my eyes but they were both slimy and sticky from a good sleep. There I saw not one, but two pregnancy tests. There were two. Two tests to be sure. Four lines. I looked at the tests. I looked at the box. She wouldn't have me look at a negative test, I thought. I stood there, not fully awake. A puzzled look came over me.  

"Are you pregnant?" was all that I could muster. "No, I just woke you up so you could look at a negative pregnancy test."  I could tell that I still looked puzzled. PUT ON SOME 50 CENT YOU DAMN HAMSTER!  

Click!

We were the first of our group of friends to get pregnant over five years ago. It was all so exciting then and our knee-jerk reaction was to tell everyone right away. We never got to get super creative with our announcement. Everyone we knew was in the know within 24 hours. This time we were more reserved. We'd seen cute announcements from our friends and friends of friends. It was our time, dammit! We were going to wait until the end of the first trimester to announce to everyone that we were making the second cutest kid ever.  (There's a running joke among a few of us that we used all the cute on our first child. Hopefully that's not true.

It was so hard not to tell people. We had the biggest secret and we couldn't say anything. I looked for opportunities to tell people. I told a plumber we hired to unclog the sewer line. He'd never see me again, or care that we were pregnant. 

We had family get-togethers. We had to hide the fact that Nikki was preggers. She obviously wouldn't be able to drink. That doesn't go over easily with my family. You're not forced to drink, but if you refuse, curiosities are triggered. Two parties at my sister's house and we were under the microscope. My sister, Amy, is good at reading. Books, people, situations. You name it. She's got an unnatural talent. Her suspicions were revealed only two weeks into our deception. The lack of alcohol was a dead giveaway. I pointed to the fact that she doesn't really drink a lot to begin with. That bought us some time. 

Fast forward one week. Another party. Too many people born in May. Again, she's not drinking. I'm getting passed the Jell-O shots she is picking up. She's getting pressured (peer and physically) to take a shot.  

"LEAVE ME ALONE I'M PREGNANT!"

Cat, meet the outside of this bag.

The few people still at the party swarmed my wife with hugs and congratulations. She looked at me with disappointed eyes. On one hand, I could tell she was upset she let it out. On the other hand, relief. It was out. People knew. 

It wasn't the way we wanted it to happen. Now we had to tell our families. We bought a shirt for Hayden (our first) that read, "Super Awesome Brother" and went over to her dad's house. Hayden walks into the room and takes his coat off and says, "Look at my awesome shirt!" Her sister cracks half a smile and vocalizes her disbelief. "Really?" Her dad is squinting. His hamster is quicker than mine was, but he thinks we're pulling his leg (we are THAT type of family).

We did the same routine with her mom and my mom. My sister's got a ring on the phone. Amy's suspicions confirmed. Facebook notified. Friends elated. The rest is history.

A lot has happened in the last year. We've fought and scratched and clawed our way through a lot. We went in and came out two different people. We found each other again. Second chances aren't always guaranteed. They don't always come around. I'm incredibly grateful for mine. Words can't express how grateful I am. Pictures wouldn't do it justice. I'm still not perfect, but working towards it. Now comes a miracle. People take things for granted everyday. I have. I have also learned to take each day and do the things I love with the people I love. More time with family. Telling my wife how much I love and value her. Kissing my boy even though he doesn't want to. Laughing with friends. 

This blog will serve as a memoir, a keepsake, a chronicling of a blessing. I'm not sure exactly what I want out of this blog. Will he or she come back twenty years from now and read this? Will I come back in twenty years and read this? Will anybody read it at all?  I wish I'd had something like this to get some insight into the situations and events that led to my creation. Will this blog impact anyone?  Will anyone be inspired to do the same?

I guess only time will tell.