When I found out I was pregnant with Shaelyn, Michael was out of town. We had been trying to get pregnant for over a year and were finally ready to call it quits for a while. Upon making that decision, I traveled out of town for work and could barely keep my eyes open I was so EXHAUSTED. When I got back in town, Michael took off. We were like ships passing in the night.
Which gave me the perfect opportunity to surprise him.
I got home and took the pregnancy test one morning before work. I sobbed. I didn't believe it. And I was shaking so hard I thought everyone at work would know my secret. Maggie (the cat) was the only one who knew. I had to tell someone, so I told her, and held her while I cried and cried.
How I kept it a secret from Michael for TWO DAYS I will never know. He had to know something was up just by the tone in my voice when we would talk on the phone, right?!
As luck would have it, it was his birthday the day he got back into town. And we had already made dinner reservations to celebrate. Also lucky that I am a procrastinator and had not yet bought him a present. Because I suddenly knew the PERFECT gift to give him.
I picked him up from the airport and drove him over the restaurant. I told him I wanted to give him his gift in the car - that I didn't want to wait to give it to him at the table. Really, I knew we'd both get emotional and I wanted that to happen in the privacy of our car! I handed him over a small box.
He tore off the paper. To reveal a tiny shoe box.
Inside was a pair of Air Jordans. Size 2.
I had no idea if we were having a boy or a girl, but I knew any child of Michael's was going to be schooled in basketball, so the gift was appropriate either way.
It was the best birthday present he's ever received.
And then, this year, 9 days after his birthday, he got a son to fill those tiny shoes.
They're still a little big, but I didn't want to miss out on the closes-too-quick window of tiny feet. So we'll give him another month to see if they really fit. In the meantime, we'll enjoy these photos of our little man.
PS - Have I mentioned that I L-O-V-E babies? Because I do. They can't talk back, pull hair (at least to intentionally cause pain), throw tantrums, ignore you, slam doors, take all their clothes off, call you stupid, slap, hit, kick, or any other absolutely mind-blowingly annoying behavior.
PPS - Babies eventually grow up to be 2 and 4-year-olds.
