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Forty and Pregnant
If we consider our thoughts as prayers and saying
them aloud as complete affirmation of our desires, we must be
prepared for the answer. When in my early 20’s, woman’s intuition
told me that I would have a change of life baby, I expressed this
thought to my husband. We had never forgotten it, so when after 22
years of marriage and 3 grown kids, we revisited the notion, we knew
it was inevitable. If we had one baby, it would certainly be two,
which would make me 42 by the time the second one came around.
People called us brave, some thought we were nuts, while others
wished they could do the same. I must admit that all of the negative
statistics on women having babies later in life scared me. But I was
healthy and knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do.
After all, life begins at 40 and as it turns out I wasn’t anywhere
near the end of my child bearing years. I pondered what it would be
like being the older mom when in years past I had always been the
younger one. Then I started looking at the faces of new mothers and
realized I would fit in just fine. Many of them had put off
motherhood to establish careers and were pushing 40 themselves. I’d
be pushing 60 by the time these two were grown, but hey, I’d be 60
anyway. Then there was the thought of the terrible two’s. Did I say
terrible two’s? I mean terrible teens. All of those nights of
staying awake to make sure everyone was safely inside had to be
considered. But I hadn’t slept a full night in years anyway, so that
didn’t hold much sway. Experience told us the years fly by, they
would be grown, and we would be missing them soon enough. With all
of the little details out of the way, and the tug of maternal
instinct calling me, I got pregnant. It was 1996 and it was the same
year we went out west to search for a new home. “M” was born later
that year and “E”, 13 ½ months after.
Over 40 and pregnant turned out to be a wonderful experience. The
pregnancies were uneventful, my diet was better than ever, my hair
darker and shinier. It was the first time I delivered naturally. No
drugs, just good old relaxation methods and deep focus. I was
encouraged by total strangers in grocery stores and shopping malls.
Women past childbearing age would stop and tell me how lucky I was
and how much they missed motherhood. They would do it again they
said, and inspired me with their praise.
Our older kids moved on to lives of their own and
with M & E we moved on to the Rockies.
As far as that change of life baby......hmmmm?
©12/11/08
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