Maddie Dawson
Broadway Books
chick-litFiction
complimentary review copy
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While growing up I insisted loud and proud I would never have children. I swore I had done my time raising my younger brothers and would never go down that road. You see, it was just my mom, me and two younger brothers from the time I was ten years old and my brothers 6 & 2 respectively. My parents were divorced and my dad stationed in Okinawa so I didn’t see him for almost eight years and my mom had to work ALL the time. It was left on me to babysit, cook & clean ~ a task I did NOT relish.
So to say I “insisted” I would never have children would be quite the understatement.
I’ve come to learn that when I insist on something {especially, when I use the term “never”} God thinks that’s kind of funny and turns my never into now.
At age 20 I discovered I was pregnant. I never considered any other option ~ to me, the options were grin and bear it.
My life was in complete turmoil.
- My mother and I were not getting along.
- Dreams of traveling the world, successful {and solitary} career was out, and at five months into the pregnancy I developed pre-term labor, was put on complete bed rest and given medication to prevent an early delivery. The side effects of the medication were horrendous.
- College had to be put on the back burner ~ again.
I was not a very happy pregnant lady. I was in and out of the hospital. And about the only thing I enjoyed about being pregnant was all the food I could eat! My body was still in recovery mode from an almost fatal accident two years prior, and I was grossly underweight.
At 36 weeks there was no stopping the delivery when my water broke. By this time I was relieved to finally allow the baby to come, to quit the medication, to begin living life again. It was all about me, me, me. My needs. My wants.
And then my daughter was gently placed into my arms.
The sense of wonderment. Joy. Absolute awe.
I truly knew from that very second onward what it was like to love another human being unconditionally.
It was not just me now. It was not even just me and my husband. My baby girl that I struggled so hard against having opened up my world, changed my life and melted my heart all in a matter of an instant.
And now I look at my baby girl who changed my life in so many ways and cannot imagine how bereft my world would have been had I never said never. I look at her all grown up and with a child of her own and thank God he found my insisting so humorous. And I see the beautiful incredible mom and woman that my daughter has become and thank God He gifted me with this miracle.
This post was inspired by the novel The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson. At the age of 44, Rosie finds herself suddenly single and pregnant. She tries to hide in her grandmother’s home, but meets two men that will change her life forever. Join From Left to Write on April 8 we discuss The Opposite of Maybe. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes. In no way did this affect my opinion or review.
Erica & The Little Monkey looking for horses.
