Megan, Joe, and Macie - January 17, 2015
So ummm… I have a bit of a confession to make. Our
family has been keeping quite a secret for about seven weeks now – since
Thanksgiving Day, actually.
I’ll come right out with the news, and then fill you
in on all of the details. (Drum roll please) Our daughter, Megan, and her
husband, Joe, are expecting a baby. Yes, it’s true. Our daughter’s going to be
a mama. Her due date is in July. So… if you’ve done the math, this development
is going to make Todd and me grandparents! Grampa Todd and Gramma Katie – can
you even believe it???
Future Grandparents
To say we’re excited is an understatement. From the
moment we heard the news we wanted to begin sharing with everyone; but it’s always
good to see how things go for a bit, make sure all is well. The good news is
that all seems to be going very well.
What happened was this… During the week of
Thanksgiving, I received a text message from Megan. It said that we should
watch for an envelope to come in the mail, but if it was okay, just hold off
opening it until we could talk. I didn’t think too much about it – we often
ship things to each other, especially on holiday weeks, so I promised we
wouldn’t open it. The envelope did arrive, and it was ‘squishy.’ I could tell
it wasn’t a card or book or anything. We made a plan to Skype on Thanksgiving
morning, when Todd and Joe would both be home.
A vague thought occurred to me. Could she be pregnant? Naaahhh… Probably not. She hasn’t said anything
to make me think that – although she did recently ‘change doctors’ and ask me
for an updated family medical history. Hmmm… I did not mention my suspicion
to Todd, just in case I was very very wrong.
A vague thought occurred to Todd. Could she be pregnant? Naaahhh… Probably
not. She hasn’t said anything to make us think that – although she did recently
‘change doctors’ and asked Kate for an updated family medical history. Hmmm… He
did not mention his suspicions to me – just in case he was very very wrong.
During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we skyped
with the kids. As our television displayed huge balloons floating above NYC, we
were told to open the envelope. Todd turned to me and whispered, “I’m going to
write my idea down, see if I’m right…” He picked up his pencil and wrote a
single word on his nearby box of Swedish Fish candy…
We opened our package, and inside was a beautiful
card, along with a tiny baby outfit, with turkeys stamped all over it. On the sleeper’s
backside was a little puffy turkey, complete with fanned-out feathers. “Mom and
Dad, we’re having a baby – You’re going to be grandparents.”
The little turkey outfit :)
Todd and I both felt so happy – sitting together on
that special holiday morning, being able to see the excitement on the kids’
faces as they gave us the good news, all of us sharing the tears of joy that only
accompany wonderful news such as this. Todd finally revealed that he’d written
the word, “Pregnant” before they divulged their news, just so that we’d believe
him if that was indeed the news.
Megan said they’d been to the doctor, and that things
looked normal. She often felt tired, and a little nauseous, but so far, so
good. It was funny because she suddenly seemed so different to me. With the
simple delivery of their news, so much had changed. This was my child – preparing to have a child. I felt protective, wanted
her to get plenty of rest, eat well, not lift anything heavy or accidentally slip
on a snowy sidewalk. I’m sure it’s just the beginning of lots of feelings for
all of us.
Since it was so early in the pregnancy, they asked
us to keep their secret a secret, especially since they were coming home to
Waukesha for Christmas. They wanted to see people in person, and give them the
good news face-to-face. Of course we agreed to silence, but I’m not gonna lie -
it’s been tough. As you know, I talk a great deal, and had to really guard
myself against letting anything slip. But nothing did.
The exception to the silence was that each of the
kids called their siblings, and gave the good news via telephone. Megan said
that Tony and Lesleigh sounded very excited for them and asked lots of questions.
Most of all, Tony encouraged them to name the baby “Anthony,” and if a girl,
“Antoinette.” …a simple request…
(shrugs) ;)
I must admit that our silence paid off because it
was a true joy on Christmas morning to watch Megan and Joe tell my 92-year-old
dad the good news, and to see his reaction. It was also fun to witness the hugs
and hear the many well-wishes from aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
I’ve been planning this blog post for ooohhh, about seven
weeks now, promising I wouldn’t do anything until the kids were ready to make their
announcement “Facebook Official.”
And so, here we are at about thirteen weeks (but
who’s counting???) With the kids living in Connecticut, we’re looking at
logistics of how things might play out. Can we figure out a time for them to
come back here for a baby shower? Will we travel there immediately post baby,
or wait a bit? What makes the best sense? We don’t need to have every answer
right now, but we’re thinking about it all, as you can imagine.
And that little turkey outfit? It’s been on a hanger
in our living room since the day we found out. It makes us smile when we see
it, makes us feel closer to the situation, helps to bridge the many miles
between us.
As the weeks and months tick by, I’m sure there’ll
be a lot more I’ll write about all of this; but for today, I ask this… Please
keep Megan, Joe, and their little “Baby S” in your most positive thoughts and
deepest prayers. Oh, and maybe, since this is new for us all, just throw our
whole family into that mix, just for good measure!
As always, thanks for reading…
Until we blog again,
Katie
Kolberg Memmel is the author of “Five Fingers, Ten Toes – A Mother’s Story of
Raising a Child Born with a Limb Difference.” For more information about the
book and the author, visit her website at www.katiekolbergmemmel.com
