When Life Throws a Curveball, Hit It Out of the Park
I’m a Virgo. (Let’s hear it for us Virgos!) I plan, I organize, I execute. Most everything works out the way I have envisioned it for the weeks, months, or years prior to the actual day of fruition. We Virgos know we could rule the world if given the opportunity. My dear friend Shannon once gave me a card that said, “There is nothing, nothing, nothing two women cannot do before noon!” I’d add: just imagine if those two women were Virgos!
Life is a series of surprises, heartaches, joys, tragedies, renewals, and redirections. If you remain flexible--even through the curve balls--you can navigate it all. If not, you may find yourself in a struggle. I think I am a little of both. I know that my transitory childhood taught me to be flexible, and I’ve used that skill where I’ve needed it most--being a mom. (If you ask my kids if I’m flexible, they would fall down on the floor laughing, so let’s keep them out of this OK? Hmmm, if you asked my girlfriends if I’m flexible, I think we would have a very mixed bag of answers. Leave them out? Nah, let’s keep the girlfriends in. After all, this blog page is called “girlfriendships” right?)
I met Pete in May. We very quickly fell madly in love. The following May I was pregnant with Lex, but my body was 12 weeks along before my conscious brain finally caught up to this unexpected (and unwed) circumstance. I remember I was feeling horrible in the evenings, and I couldn’t understand why. So I did what any sensible girl does, I called one of my girlfriends. This time it was my card-sending-friend Shannon.
“I am feeling so nauseous at night. I don’t get it.”
“Is it because you’re nervous about moving with Pete to Chicago?” she asked.
“No. I’m not nervous about moving to Chicago. I’m dying to get out of my mom’s house and finally be with Pete.”
“Do your nipples hurt?”
“YES, they do.” (OK that is WAY too much information, I know. It was true though. They hurt like crazy!)
“You’re pregnant!”
Shannon can be subtle, but not this time.
My next plan? Find out if Shannon was right. I had to get to the pharmacy for an EPT. Wait. CurveballI! Just a few days ago I had a garage sale and sold everything I owned--even my car. (I made $2,300!) Great. How am I supposed to get to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test? (Adapt) I ran there. I got the EPT, and ran home. A few minutes later, I have my result: +. I was crushed. I called Shannon sobbing. “I can’t believe it, I’m pregnant!”
See, my plan was that I would finish my master’s program with the teaching credential in September, I’d move to Chicago, and would look for a teaching job there. Well, I had my master’s degree and teaching credential...and (curveball), I was pregnant. How was I going to make the timing of having my first teaching job jibe with my due date? Lex was due May 5th, and I knew I didn’t want to abandon my very first classroom to go have a baby. So I decided to forgo working as a teacher for that year.
Well, Lex was born in early April, and after being home with her, I needed to redirect my plan. I never did return to teaching. I was so proud to be the first in my family to have a college degree, let alone a master’s degree and a teaching credential, and I never used any of it. But you know what? Plans don’t always work out the way they are planned. Lex was a gift sent from heaven. Nothing could ever take the place of being at home to raise her, and four years later, our son Kole. Nothing.
I love that you were with me today. See you tomorrow!
XO
Lisa A.K.A. Loopie