That La Kid

I’ve been queasy for weeks.  But hey, no actual throwing up, so overall I was pretty enthusiastic.  Also, like I said, I’ve been cautiously optimistic about this whole thing from the beginning.  I’ve had symptoms before that turned out to be my imagination.  (Hysterical pregnancy, much?)

But of course, 5 minutes before we’re supposed to walk out the door to drive to Florida for One More Disney Day…

…I throw up.

Man.  This is going to be a fun 8 hour drive.  I want to call my mom.  This pregnancy thing gets more real every day.  I’m not all that upset about being sick.  it tickles me to death that this might be the real thing!

I don’t know what a panic attack feels like, but I would imagine it was similar to something I experienced overnight.  Let me say, first, that it really has nothing to do with what I was feeling panicked about and more to with just straight up anxiety.  The whole time I’m just telling myself, “alright, this makes no sense – reel it in.”  It’s an interesting phenomenon.  It’s interesting that my body would react physiologically but not logically.

For the record, it was regarding camping at Disney.  I just don’t know if it’s for me.  But, like I said, I’m not so concerned with what I was worried about.  That really has nothing to do with it.  People worry all the time, but not to the extent where they feel shortness of breath and can’t stop crying.  My face and neck became hot and flushed.  I am a worrier.  That’s just how I roll.  But it’s never taken such a toll on me physically.  I wonder if everything is heightened because of being pregnant, or if this is some kind of new Wendy development that I will have to start living with.

No me gusta.

I went downstairs, because it’s cooler down there.  I laid on the couch and turned on “Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney World” and the whole episode subsided in about 20 minutes.  Later, in the wee hours of the morning, Tom came down and laid beside me and restarted the movie.  I was already asleep by then, but I sat up for a few minutes then nodded off to the movie again.  It was nice.  He’s nice.  I like him.

Six weeks and five days into being pregnant, I’m already very aware that there is a demanding child inside me.  I can’t control the timing on anything my body does and I’m blaming 100% of it on the kiddo.  Eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom… it all seems to be occurring on someone else’s schedule.  And when we’re doing it – WE’RE DOING IT.  There’s no debate.  I don’t get a little rumble in my stomach – I’M STARVING.  Must.  Eat.  And when it comes to the potty – there’s no holding it.  (Of course when I actually get in the bathroom, there’s barely anything to show for all the anticipation.)  The sleeping thing is very similar to what I think narcolepsy must be like.  Watching Judge Judy folding some laundry in the living room one second, the next: ZZZZZZZZ.

It’s all very interesting.

And holy balls, if it’s this demanding now – while it’s only the size of a pea – how the heck am I going to deal when it’s 16?!

Also… funny story.  I followed Tom home from Charlottesville in our new 4Runner last night.  I was scanning the radio and happened to catch “Hold On Loosely” from the beginning.  So, I’m jamming out and thinking about how awesome .38 Special was that one time I saw them in concert with my D.o.D… and I remembered they perform at Epcot every year near Dad’s birthday.  We should go!  Dang!  I should just make the decision that even if it’s a weekday – I’m going.  Crap.  Dad’s bday is Oct. 21.  Kiddo is due mid-October.

DDDAAANNNGGG IIITTT!!!!!!!!!

Already this kid is wreaking havoc on my social life.

Several years ago, I bought a countdown block calendar at Hallmark.  The base says, “weeks ’til I’m a Grandma!” and it has two blocks with numbers on them that you change each week as you count down.  So, my plan was to get Mom and Dad together and give that to Mom for Valentine’s Day.

Things did not exactly go as planned.

On Friday night, the night Mom and Dad assumed we arrived, we were planning on having frosties with Brantley at Wendy’s on Ridge Street at 8.  Mom and I went shopping and we arranged to do dinner at Wendy’s with Tom and Dad at 7:30.

But then…

When Dad got to his house, he tripped, fell, and busted his butt.  He had laid a trash can full of brush on its side two weeks ago to drain the water out of it right in the middle of his walkway.  A combination of things caused him to not notice this thing he had walked around for two whole weeks.  For one thing, the porch light wasn’t on.  He also was looking behind him at whoever followed him into the circle.

SO…

Dad was in no mood to do anything or go anywhere.  We went to Wendy’s anyway, but Tom and I got the food for everyone and we got it wrong… by the time we ordered it again and got it right Brantley had arrived.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.

Saturday I was anxious all day.  I just wanted to go to lunch or dinner or something with my folks and tell them!  Tom and I needed haircuts.  The plan was to take Jasmine to the lake, go with Matt to a winery, pick up Dad from work at 3, and do something as a family.  What we actually ended up doing was much less exciting.  Matt pushed back the wine-tasting until it was too late to really enjoy it and THEN get Dad.  (If I knew then what I know now, we would have put Dad in bed and gone out with Matt.)  We went to the DMV and registered my car.  Then we dropped off Jasmine at the Herold’s.  Drove back into town and I got a haircut.  Tom didn’t get his because Dad said he wanted a haircut, too, and they could go together.  It’d be fun.  After my haircut, we picked up Dad and he was hurtin’ so we just went back to his house.  Tom fixed lunch.  Mom came and got me and the two of us went shopping.

We got back to Dad’s around 8, and I was excited because it was time for dinner and we were FINALLY going to tell Mom and Dad the happy news!

Tom and Dad were both asleep.  We were able to wake Tom up, but Dad said, “go on without me.”  So, we did.  We went to East Garden.  (He said later that if we had told him where we were going he would have come with us, but I don’t know if I believe him.)

Mom’s fortune cookie said, “Good news will come to you from far away.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

—

On Sunday, we had lunch at Cracker Barrel in Waynesboro for Debbie’s birthday.  Tom and I had a plan.  We took Mom’s truck over the mountain so Jasmine could stay in the back while we ate, but more importantly so the four of us could ride together.  Tom drove.  I gave Dad a funny Valentine.  Then I handed Mom a card and a present.

She opened the present and squealed and screamed and laughed and it was just amazing.  Dad turned around like, “what? What?!”  Mom turned the little calendar around, it said “34 Weeks ’til I’m a Grandma” and they both went nuts.  (I miscounted, it’s actually 33.)

One of the first things that came up were their names.  It’s funny because we talked about it for years, and it all sorted itself out right there in about 30 seconds.  Dad said he wants to be “Grandpa” for his Grandpa and my Grampa, and Mom picked “Gran” right away for her grandpa and my Dad’s grandma, Gran.

Dad noted where we were exactly on the road.  He was like, “you’re telling us here?!  In the car?”  Honestly, WE TRIED EVERYTHING ELSE.

We talked about how to tell Lindsay and Haley.  My sisters and I are all going to be in Florida at some point in the next couple of weeks, just not necessarily together – but I was trying to work it out so that our paths crossed and I could tell them both in person.  Dad said he thought Lindsay would rather know sooner than face-to-face.  I don’t know if Dad knew I was holding out on Haley until I had them both together.  I also think Dad just wanted to be there when Lindsay and Haley found out.  So his idea was to call Lindsay and tell them both while we had her on the phone.

And that’s exactly what we did.

We were all sitting in the 4Runner in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel.  Dad called Lindsay and said we’re having a family meeting.  I just blurted it out.  I said, “Lindsay?  Lindsay, can you hear me?”  She said, “Yeah, yeah.”

“Lindsay,”

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to be an aunt.”

And there was much rejoicing in the village.  🙂  No one could believe it.  Everyone was thrilled.  I’m excited.

LINDSAY AND HALEY ARE GOING TO BE AUNTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom got a job offer from Palladin.  I know, right?  Amazing.  Making the same thing he’s making now, but in Cville where the cost of living is astronomical.  Also, no health care.  Not yet, anyway.  And it sounds like when we DO get healthcare, it’ll be part of the $*dollar amount they offered* “package.”  I’m not positive what that means, but it sounds to me like they’re taking it out of his paycheck.  How ironic that the offer came on the same day as the positive pregnancy test.  Interesting.  Had all this happened 3 months ago, it would be a no brainer.  I’d be closer to my family, deliver a baby in a hospital with which I am familiar… BUT someone is living in our house right now, and will be for the next 21 months.

I can’t wait to look back on all of this and see how it all turned out.