Intro
It is sloooowly sinking in that my oldest is actually a Senior this year.
You've heard all the cliche sayings. You know, the ones the old ladies used to tell you when you were balancing a baby and a diaper bag while wiping spit up (projectile vomit in my case) off your shirt rushing through the grocery store?
It goes so fast.
You'll blink and he will be grown.
It won't be like this for long.
These were the sayings I would just sweetly smile at and then brush off. The sleepless nights, sicknesses, and learning to balance being a working mama while protecting a little human's life were more than I could handle at that time. I didn't even have the capacity to understand that those moments truly were fleeting. That one day, almost 18 years from that point, I would be looking back and wondering...
How did it go so fast?
I blinked and he grew up.
I miss that stage...and that stage...and that stage.
Hence, the reason for this blog series. I've never done a series before and I am excited that this will be the first. I want Garrison to be able to see the last 18 years from his mama's perspective.
Garrison Robert...this is for you.
Surprises
It was January, 2005. Dad and I had been married almost 2 years. He was in the Navy and we were stationed in Virginia Beach, VA at the time. We were not planning on starting a family just yet. Neither of us wanted to raise kids too far from their grandparents. But God had other plans that, as usual, were SO much better than ours. I had been feeling a little off but the idea I could be pregnant didn't even hit me until I came home from work one day. Boogie, our oldest pup, who always pounced up on my stomach to greet me, jumped up and just stayed "standing" in the air. He rested his paws ever so lightly on my stomach and then calmly sat down and looked at me. And I looked at him. And we just stared at each other for a few minutes. (Side note - are dogs not the most amazing creatures?! When you get older and have a place of your own, get a dog. You won't regret it.) The next day I picked up a pregnancy test on my way home from work. I woke up the next morning and took the test. Surely my eyes were still blurry from sleep because I saw the faintest pink line. That couldn't be right. I just needed to get to the doctor to be sure. I was waiting for the nurse to come back in and tell me the test was negative when she busted in the room and yelled, "Congratulations, Mommy!" Ummmmm...huh?! I was in complete and total shock. I remember walking to my car feeling like I was having an out of body experience. I couldn't tell Dad this over the phone so I decided to drive to the base and tell him in person. (I called Grammy on the way because I just had to tell someone, so technically she was the first to know.) Dad was as shocked as I was. I remember we just stood there leaning over the railing looking at the ocean in silence.
As shocked as we were at first, it didn't take us long to be so incredibly excited about you. The love we felt for you was instantaneous. I knew you were a boy from the very beginning. Let's be real - can you picture me as a girl mom? Okay, back to the story. We knew we had some things to work out. We didn't think Dad would even be in town for the birth because he was scheduled to be out to sea on deployment. Also, I had an unsettling first appointment at the base. Picture the corpsman doing routine blood work. He hits a vein and blood starts spurting out of my arm like a horror movie. He literally crouched down in the corner and I was calming HIM down. Yeah, not okay. With the odds stacked against us, we decided it would be best if I moved back to Texas to have you. So, at 5 months pregnant, my unconditionally supportive parents made the drive to Virginia to pack up the cars (along with the pups) and head "home" to Texas. They had just downsized their house by the way. Go figure.
Fast forward a few months - one month shy of my due date...the doctor told me I had pre-eclampsia and he had to induce me asap. I pleaded for just a little more time so Dad could try to be there. He ended up not having to go on as long of a deployment so the timing actually worked out. He flew to Texas for the weekend to see you, his first baby boy, being born. The funniest memory I have was in the delivery room when I wasn't dilating like I should and the doctor said, "It looks like we are going to have to prep for a c-section." Dad's response? "I don't think I can do that." To which the doctor wittily replied, "Well, YOU don't have to do that. She does." I truly thought Dad would faint right then and there. Thankfully things progressed quickly and no c-section was needed.
We were surrounded by so much family that weekend it was incredible! KiKi and Chris (my sister and her husband of one month) even drove from Houston during a HURRICANE to meet you - their first nephew. So much love! My most vivid memory of that whole weekend was Dad's goodbye to you. Talk.about.hard. He only had the weekend off and had to fly back that Sunday. I have never seen your father cry like he cried that day. And I haven't seen him cry like that since. We prayed together. And then Dad held held you (wrapped up like a baby burrito) in his arms. He rocked you and soaked your face with tears. It was hard. It was sweet. It was beautiful. Kind of like the next 18 years would be.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." -Jeremiah 1:5
