August 27: God had some more sevens in store for us. We’re pregnant. Again. We found out August 27 a little before 7 pm at Baptist Minor Medical Center when the on-call doctor offered us a pregnancy test “out of curiosity” after I was through being checked out for what I thought was an emergency. To quote Inigo Montoya, “Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”
Some cool things had already happened. I didn’t sit down Aug. 25 and think I’m going to write a blog. I got on Facebook per normal but on that day I saw a forwarded post from a long lost childhood friend. I reconnected with her and when she messaged asking how I was doing, I started writing. I was struck by the coincidence that it was exactly seven months since Gabriel was born. I kept writing her and eventually I realized I was writing another blog post, not just a message to an old friend. So I cut and pasted and that blog was born. The blog that said I was pregnant at last year’s Forrest Spence race but I wasn’t talking about being pregnant yet. And this year, I was talking at the race as a speaker and didn’t even know I was pregnant yet. It’s Ok. Go back and read that again. I had to, too. I was pregnant on Saturday the 23rd at the race – crying into the trees – talking about God’s blessings and purpose. I just didn’t know it then. Who knew all of this would happen? One guy. One big guy in the sky. The original Mac Daddy of, well, everything. We’re pregnant. We are pregnant. Kevin and Lee are having a baby. They are with child. There is a bun in the oven. Breathe. Ok, sorry. I forgot I’m summing up, not rambling.
Back to the events of Aug. 27. Normal day. Work, bank, post office, grocery store. I pulled in the driveway about 5 pm just in time to see our new next door neighbor walking around her front yard. I walked over, groceries in hand, and introduced myself. Hi. Hi. It’s hot. Yeah, it’s hot. We love High Point. Wine soon? Yep, and pie. We like pie. Then I felt my chest tighten up in a way that was extremely distracting. I waved, retreated and came inside our house. Told Kevin I met the new neighbor. I sat down for a minute. Something was still pressing on my chest – hard. I walked around a little breathing calmly. I took two aspirin and drank a glass of water and went to lie down. It was 95 degrees and 5 pm; this was probably nothing. Lying down compressed the pain so intensely that I lurched right back up. I calmly walked over to Kevin who was working in our dining room and told him something was wrong in my chest. Nothing’s wrong, really, I stressed, but I thought I’d mention it. I went to lie down again. Wrong move. More pain. Seizing kind of pain. Deep breaths hurt. Sitting hurt. I took off my rings thinking once admitted to the hospital I’d be separated from Kevin and they might be at risk. I am freakishly calm during emergencies. I think of almost everything. And I stay calm. I have no use for anxiety nor drama. Kevin, equally calm, googled the closest minor medical facility and we were off. Long story short, it turned out I was not having a heart attack. I had pulled a muscle, or several, in my upper rib cage and that was causing crazy pain around where I thought my heart was. Turns out, that’s not where my heart is and the crayon drawing I was praised for in kindergarten was wrong. And these organs aren’t even shaped like a heart. Whatever. Why’d we take a pregnancy test? During my medical evaluation, the doctor on call had asked if I’d been under any stress lately. Funny man. Kevin answered for me: “not really.” Two funny men. I said maybe a little stress. Ya know. He also wanted to take an x-ray and asked if there was any chance I was pregnant. I said maybe a little bit. Ya know. The EKG showed my heart was 100% fine and an x-ray wasn’t even necessary. Just a pulled muscle from either lifting something heavy (no chance there) or sneezing or coughing or some other spastic internal motion. My muscles must be sensitive. I’ve been saving them to use for something important but I guess I should’ve been practicing for something so a sneeze – or slight walk up a neighbor’s sloping hill – wouldn’t cause them to seize. Ah well. So I was fine. Sore but fine since it was no longer a life-threatening sore. We were about to leave when the doctor said he’d do a pregnancy test – just for fun – and that he’d only come back and see us if there was good news. We said goodbye to him and started packing up. Moments later, he popped back in and simply said, “Congratulations.” Kevin looked at me and I gazed at him. Then we looked at the doctor who was already retreating into the lab room across the hall so he could show us the results. Tears forming, I asked the doctor if he was a Christian and he said he was. We circled arm in arm, and I prayed – thanking God for this news through tears and a now bursting heart of gratitude. When I finished, the doctor told us he goes to Hope Presbyterian and that this clinic time is part of his ministry. Then the nurse came back and encouraged us too, and we praised Our Shared Father again together. Then we drove straight to my parents’ house and told them. Then we called Bonus Mom and Dad who then called my parents to talk to the only people they were allowed to talk to. The next day we called our sisters. Then the wait began because – because we were supposed to be on Fox 13 TV that night, the 28th, to talk about how the Forrest Spence Fund had helped us. We followed through and did it, and it was so sweet to be able to have time for Gabriel to be honored once again – in that way. He will always have our love. We just really want him to also have a little brother or sister on earth. Like everything that has happened to us, it was supposed to be that way. I was supposed to be able to talk about Gabriel while quietly carrying our second child while pointing, pointing, pointing others back to God.
I’m writing this on Aug. 30. I’m not going to post it until we can tell our church shepherds, my girls’ Bible Study on Tuesday and our Grace Group on Wednesday. It’ll be our first group meetings back after our summer break. I told my girls’ Bible Study that I was pregnant at my first meeting back last year. I told them I was supposed to tell my fertility specialist to start blood work at my next cycle. I didn’t get it last year. And I didn’t get it this time. The same thing happened. The only difference is this time we’re telling people at the time of getting the positive pregnancy test. Last time we waited about 13 weeks thinking that was the “safe time” to share. My journal entry from Aug. 27, 2013 said this: “Second check up with Dr. D. K met him too. All is well at 9 weeks and a couple days. Relief and praising God for the opportunity.”
My math says our new due date is Cinco de Mayo. Fun!!! 5/5/15.
There is no safe time for us – for any of us, really. There is only now. This moment. This love. This family of four even though human eyes only see two people. There are just prayerful people, broken people, longing people who are in this life together with us marching toward one goal – glorifying Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be His name. His Kingdom come. His will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints. And give thanks to His Holy name. – Psalm 30:4
