Shock and awe. That's the best way to describe it.
Yesterday, Erich and I decided to go ahead and take a pregnancy test. So when I woke up Friday morning and stumbled into the bathroom, I peed into a cup and stuck the test stick in. I swear to you that before I even pulled it out I saw a plus sign on that sucker! But since the instructions say to wait 3 minutes before reading the results, I figured maybe the thing was calibrating or something. So I set it down and crawled back into bed to wait it out.
Three long minutes later, Erich and I looked at the stick together, and the plus sign was still there! OMG, I'm pregnant!
We stared at the stick for a long time, pretty much in shock. How did this happen? OK, we know
how, but we figured it would take us a while to get pregnant. After all, I'm 36 and he's 42, and darn it, it's supposed to be difficult at our age! So as we lay there in bed absorbing the stick's life-changing message, we decided I should take another test, preferable from a different brand. Luckily, I just happened to have one. We then lamented the fact that I had foolishly poured all the pee out and now we had to wait until my bladder filled up again. (Of course, if you know me, you know that wasn't very long anyway.)
Test 2? Also
instantly positive. OMG, I
am pregnant!
I immediately called my doctor to schedule a blood test, and she booked us for a 10 AM appointment. We were pretty confident two different tests wouldn't lie, but hey, best to be sure.
We then decided to have lunch with my parents to tell them the news. We decided to tell them by framing a picture of the pregnancy tests in a "grandparents" frame. (Thankfully, the doctor's office called about 2 minutes before we met with them to confirm the results of our pregnancy tests.)
Of course, my parents were suspicious right away when I suggested a family lunch (mostly because of misunderstanding and thinking we wanted to cook for them, which would be unusual, but nonetheless, they were on to us.) So when we met up outside the restaurant, they right away told us they had a wager going as to why we were all meeting for lunch. *sigh* So much for surprises! But they were ecstatic anyway, of course!
I have to say, it's been a roller coaster these last couple weeks. So many big changes. On Thursday, 8/17, I found out I got the job I wanted the most in Adams 12 School District as a District Instructional Technology Coordinator and that not only would my commute be cut in half, but I would most likely get a raise. What a high!
Then on Sunday, 8/19, our beloved 9 years young greyhound, Bongo, passed away suddenly (the vet thinks it may have been an aneurysm or possibly massive heart failure). We were completely devastated.
While researching online to learn more about what may have happened to him, I read a woman's post about her dog who died similarly. She concluded by saying that she was comforted by the fact that her sister had a baby around the same time, so maybe the dog was being called away to watch over the baby. Although I don't really believe in such things, I thought it was a nice idea. So I started hoping I was pregnant so that maybe Bongo was doing the same or even being reincarnated up (also not something I really believe in).
Sure enough, 5 days later we find out I am. Even more bizarre, when we met with my parents, my mom, who's been referring to our unborn child as "Enzo" for over a year based on a character in the book
Driving in the Rain, told us this: In the book, Enzo is a dog who belongs to a race car driver. Enzo desperately wants to be human. At the end of the book, Enzo dies and is reincarnated as his master's son.
Yeah, we both got goosebumps. Even my dad seemed a bit moved, and he's the last person you'd expect to humor such a theory. So I guess if our kid is born super fast with ADD, we'll know there's a little bit of Bongo in there! :)
It's hard to image any other 2 week span in my life that's been filled with more extreme highs and lows!
That evening, we texted Erich's parents the photo of the tests to tell them the news. We got a hold of Erich's dad, who was thrilled as well, but unfortunately his mom had just left to meet some friends, so she didn't get the news. Poor Art had to keep the news all to himself until she returned!
We also sent the photo to Erich's brother and sister. My favorite response was Maria's:
