My Conception Story

Part of me always knew that I would never be one of those people who has their life set up perfectly and then decides it's time to have a child.  I much less feel that eager urge, baby fever, to bring offspring into this world. It would have to be, as Bob Ross would say, a happy accident if I became pregnant one day. Well, 12 weeks ago (this calculation is in pregnancy weeks, which bizarrely don't count from actual conception) the happy accident happened and I am now two instead of one.

My boyfriend and I were living a semi-nomadic lifestyle enjoying traveling the open road here in the US. We were in Florida when Aunt Flow failed to make her monthly visit... I never thought I would miss her, but I definitely did. At first, a bit of panic set in. Was I ready to bring another life into this crazy world? Could I afford it? Did bf and I have a strong enough relationship (we had definitely been through some rough patches? Many decisions needed to be made. I was raised in a very strictly religious home and taught to staunchly pro-life. In my adult life, however, I have built my own belief system that has little to do with dogma and consider myself pro-choice. Being such, I decided to keep my little one and brave whatever storms that would entail. Luckily my boyfriend has been supportive and also wants to keep the child. So here we are soon to be three.

Though I can't be 100% sure, I like to think that the little one was conceived at Blue Springs, an absolutely magical place in Florida. The clear water is drinkably clean and so very refreshing in the miserable heat of a Florida summer. Its color is a magnificent turquoise and the park is overhung with that typically prehistoric-looking flora that you find in very wet places. Gorgeous and magical spot. It is exactly somewhere where the spark of life would descend.

I found out I was pregnant while we were staying at a farm (whose name I will withhold since, while it was a beautiful place, I did not have the most positive experience there) in Florida. Being from Colorado originally and pretty much always heading north when I travel, the Florida summer heat in early pregnancy lead to so much misery. Staying on this farm, we were required to work in exchange for a little room eschewing the comforts of modern life. I need to note here that generally I don't mind this type of living (I lived in a tent in New Orleans for months and was perfectly fine), but the discomfort of my first pregnancy and the first trimester made this experience quite hellish. The family who owned the farm had me cleaning cabins in such extreme heat- it would be no exaggeration to say that is must have been at least 120 degrees. I have never felt so faint or been so completely drenched in sweat and misery in my entire life. Needless to say, I stopped working there and left for Colorado as soon as I found a ticket. Not everything at this farm was suffering however. I had some beautiful moments; like when a golden horse came to me at night and gentle nuzzled my stomach as if to bless my little growing life. I watched a small peacock family tend to its young, and played with baby goats. As is often the case in life, there was beauty mixed into the suffering I felt.

So anyway, here I am spending a little time back in Colorado with family before heading out to meet back up with my boyfriend and start our little family. As with most things in my life, I'm going to simply dive into the uncertainty that awaits with curiosity. We'll see what happens next.

A Little Introduction

Hello hello and welcome!  To release some of the wildness of my internal thought-creatures into the world, I've decided to create a new blog. I had been toying with the idea for quite some time, and this morning while enjoying a nice cup of tea I was struck with the motivation lightning bolt. I can't promise that I'll be able to stay focused on just one topic since my interests are quite vast and I am forever curious about learning new things and sharing them, but the main themes of this blog will be language, travel, pregnancy, and raising my baby (once born) trilingual. I intend to share my life experiences, the good and the bad, and hopefully others will find a warm place where they can relate and share their own stories here. I look forward to hearing from you and I hope you find something worthwhile and enjoyable within these pages. Let's share a digital cuppa and talk about life together!

Much love,

A