A Special Day

Friday, December 01, 2006
A Special Day Current mood: grateful
Picture it. Fairfax, Virginia, 2002. It was Sunday and was hurrying home from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where my parents had a second residence to treat a kitten at my, then, place of employment, The Cat Hospital of Fairfax. The kitten was all grey and Andrew named her Mia, because she meowed constantly, and it sounded like "Mia, Mia....MIA!" I was THIS CLOSE to adopting her. She was staying at CHOF until she was well enough to be adopted (later, and by two AWESOME guys (partners! LOVE IT!) who gave her the BEST LIFE EVER!)
And...I had this feeling. SOMETHING made me drive to the Rite-Aid across the street and buy a pregnancy test. My "menses" (because I am too immature to say "period" GROSS!) wasn't due for a few days, but I just had this hunch. I took the test in the CHOF bathroom, in the office space that I had so many fantastic memories and now had one more to add to the list...A big, fat, positive pregnancy test! Andrew was on business in Chicago, so I called my mother first!
I recall, very clearly, that after I saw that second line appear indicating a positve result, it hit me in the gut, like a ton of bricks, that he was a boy. I felt that way the entire pregnancy, and I cried right on the ultrasound table when my feeling was confirmed. I knew he was a boy. My boy. My good, sweet baby boy.
I called my doctor that day because I was on some medication for abdominal cramping pre-pregnancy and I wanted to make sure it didn't hurt the baby. And let's face it, I'd had some drinks. She assured me that it was so early in the pregnany, but to stop taking the meds. And I, of course, stopped drinking (believe it? Or not, but I did!) But the best thing she said was "Oh, how special, you're finding out the first day of Advent.") I'm not exceptionally religious, but it felt so comforting to hear that. It reminded me of opening an Advent calendar when I was young. My mother always had an Advent calendar for us.
Four weeks later I found myself in the emergency room following a minor one car (mine!) accident on the Dulles Toll Road coming home from pet sitting in Annandale Christmas day. The weather conditions changed in the blink of an eye and I found myself stranded, pregnant and helpless. The next day, I started to bleed and I thought for sure he was gone. But when the ultrasound technician peeked inside...there he was, in all of his "peanut" glory, heart beating like crazy. My boy. And he was mine.
We didn't find out his gender until weeks later, but I knew then as I know him now.
Tonight we spent time reading books, his favorite (The "noises" book, during which he gets to make every sound known to man) and mine "The Kissing Hand which I can't EVER get through without crying! And now he is sleeping soundly with his "blankie" and "mommy's blankie" which is an old (OLD!) afghan from my parent's house that he thinks he is "borrowing" from me.
I'm not going to lie. I'm not perfert and my kids DO get on my nerves sometimes, in fact, today was an especially hard day. But today, this first day of advent, I am so grateful to have Maxwell, my boy, my special, sweet boy. And he's mine.
Currently listening : You Are My Flower By Elizabeth Mitchell Release date: By 14 May, 2002