My (Not So) Great Expectations

If I went back 15 years ago and imagined my life, this is not where I would have thought I'd be. In High School I wanted so much to get out of my small town that I couldn't think of anything else. I wanted to be an archaeologist, Indian Jones style, and never have a postal address. Life, however, had different plans for me, and my expectations would never be met. I went to college, got a bachelors in history, and sent out my (not so) impressive resume all over the country to various museums and galleries  sure that they would all clamour for the chance to pay for my continuing education. I did not get one reply. Not even a 'thanks, but no thanks'. So I moved, then moved again, trying to find a job and a place I felt like I belonged. I worked in a the trucking business for a few years. The pay was great but I wasn't happy. Then I met the man I would marry. It sounds sappy and even I want to scoff when I hear myself say that I knew right away I was going to marry him...but I did. So I uprooted my whole life and moved from Michigan to Arizona to be with him. All that I needed now was a job that I could love. Unbelievably, I got it. I was hired as an assistant archivist (the lowest on the totem pole, but who cares!?!?) at the state archives. And, if I could prove my worth, they would pay for my continued education. It was an awesome job. I felt totally fulfilled. I was engaged to be married, working a wonderful job and living a place so unlike my former hometown I felt like I was on another planet! Take that Indiana Jones! 5 months before our Hawaiian wedding I got sick. I thought I had food poisoning, severe food poisoning. So I went to Urgent Care. "Can you be pregnant?' asked the supposed doctor. "No. No way! But go ahead and check anyway," I nonchalantly replied. I was absolutely SURE I wasn't pregnant. After all I had just realized so many of my expectations and was on my way to fulfilling them all! It was like a slap in the face when the doc came in with the 'good news' that I was not, in fact, sick but pregnant. Nooooo!!!! I wanted to cry and pass out and throw up all at the same time. I was scared to tell my not-quite husband. With one cup of pee I had ruined all our plans for the future. What would he say? Would he still want to marry me? As I walked out to the waiting room he was sitting in a ratty chair watching Aladdin on an ancient TV. He turned to me and said with a grin, "You're pregnant. I knew it!" And with those five words our whole life changed. We got married in Hawaii. I was 5 months pregnant and sleeping 18 hours a day but we managed to have an amazing honeymoon.

 Our daughter was born at 37 weeks. I had to have a c-section because she was breech and didn't have enough amniotic fluid to flip over. When she came out all goo and flailing arms, I was gone. My whole life became about my child. I quit my job and became a stay at home mom. I talked about nothing but my beautiful, pudgy, poopy baby. I recorded her first taste of food, her first steps, her first words and every moment in between. By the time she was 3 months old I was ready for another one, though it would be a few more months before I got pregnant again. Our son was born exactly 19 months to the day after our daughter. My daughter is currently 28 months and my son is 9 months. Now all I expect from my life is to watch my children grow up healthy, happy and with the knowledge that they are my greatest accomplishments and have fulfilled me in a way I never knew possible. Who's ready for baby number 3?!?!