Phantasm Friday

EVENTS THAT SHAPED MY LIFE

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Taking the same idea that Margay used, I’m remembering years past and what events changed my life the most.

Thirteen years ago today I found out that I was pregnant with my first son. He’s 12 now, sassy, knows more than me (or so he thinks) and has an attitude that would swallow our state. It’s hard to believe 13 years have since lapsed. My husband was in Michigan when I found out I was pregnant. It snowed in Alabama while he was out of town and it was warm in Michigan. Strange turn of events since it rarely snows in Alabama. That Christmas was one of the best Christmases of my life. Oddly enough four years later I would discover I was pregnant and, once again, my husband would be out of town.

When I think of all the things that have changed in 13 years, it is startling. My entire life changed, for the better, but boy was I unprepared for how drastic a change having a baby would be. There would be little to no sleep and the focus suddenly shifted radically to this new life we’d created. I suddenly found I had no time for myself, but our son also drew my husband and me closer to one another as well. No one prepared me for the depth of love I'd feel either. Who knew one person could love another person so much. Those first few weeks after our first son was born, I’d sit and stare at him for hours marveling that this child was really mine. Sometimes I still marvel that he’s mine, especially when I hear the radical things that come out of his mouth. LOL Oh, how times have changed.

Then four years later another son joined our family a month before Christmas and my life changed again, became busier, more hectic, clothes washing increased, sleep departed our household once again and the number of little people vying for my attention ramped up exponentially. But again, it was instant love. The only difference between my first and second sons, I knew what I was doing with the second one and wasn't afraid I'd break him like I was with my first son.

Watching my boys interact has been a joy as well. From the moment I brought my youngest home, my oldest was interested in being a part of his life. He would ask to hold his little brother and feed him his bottle. And when my youngest son was just a few months old, my oldest son could make a funny face or act silly and my youngest would cackle at his brother as if nothing in life could possibly be funnier. My youngest still idolizes his big brother. Watching them grow and bond has been a blessing and they still guard one another’s back.

Over the course of 13 years, we’ve watched loved ones fight diseases, some won, some lost, and some still suffering. We’ve lost friends and gained new ones, lost animals and gained new ones, and lost pieces of ourselves and added new pieces to recreate ourselves. We’ve left jobs and began new careers, moved three times, each time to a new city further away from our parents, and we went to school and received different degrees. But the biggest most important change in those 13 years was that I became a mother. That out of everything in my life has changed me more than any other event. Without them, I wouldn’t be half the woman I am today. Without them, I wouldn't "care" for others the way I do now because they taught me what it really means to "love" and "care for" another person.

What event has changed your life, shaped you and molded you into the person you are today?