The birthday of my baby, and no, I don’t look old enough to have a 12 year old.

Yesterday was Taylor’s 12th birthday. It’s interesting to look back and realize that there’s only one more year until he’s a teenager.
Andy and I only dated for about 3 months before we got engaged. We met 3 months after I graduated high school. I was going to a state school in PA, Kutztown University, only because the school I wanted to go to, Pace University in Manhattan, was like $30k a year and my parents couldn’t afford it. So I figured I would do really well in college and get a scholarship and then transfer. I hated Kutztown so badly, I woke up one morning and decided that joining the reserves would give me money to go to school. So I did. The night before you do your contract, the recruiter takes you to the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) and you stay at a hotel. This was where I met Andy. He was shipping to basic training the next day. So I have literally been with the man since Day 1 of his military career.

The weekend before I went to basic training, I went down to visit him. This was 6 months after we met. It was Friday the 13th of March, and he proposed to me. I promptly responded by getting pregnant that night and then leaving for basic training. Yes, basic training. I didn’t know because I was only like 3 days pregnant. And I didn’t find out for two more months. I just thought I was so tired because HELLO! IT’S BASIC TRAINING! And I found out by accident too. I went to the clinic to get an ACE bandage for my knee, and I guess it was standard procedure to do a pregnancy test. The doctor came back and told me I was knocked up, and was not really that comforting when I burst in to tears. Army doctors really need to work on their sensitivity training. I knew phone use was limited, so I called my parents and when they didn’t answer, I left them a voicemail. Then I felt bad and had my friend Matt go over to the house and break the news to them. Now THAT is true friendship to tell your friends parents that their 18 year old daughter is pregnant!

I had a stressful pregnancy, being so young. I wasn’t sure what kind of mother I would make, since I didn’t plan to have kids until I was about 30 (never). But I knew more than anything that I did want to have this baby. Andy went through the same fears and anxieties, and the fact he was stationed in GA and I was living in PA with my parents only made things worse. But in the end we made it through, and realized how much we wanted to be a family.

Andy and I didn’t end up getting married until two months after Taylor was born, a fact which Taylor himself realized when doing the math about two years ago. You can’t put anything past these kids. Now we can’t imagine our lives without him. He looks just like Andy and nothing like me, other than his thick hair.

Turns out, having Taylor was the first thing I did that made sense. It was the first step towards being an adult and actually growing up…although that hasn’t even fully happened yet. He changed my life and will always be my little man, even though he will be taller than me in about two years. Happy Birthday, baby.

I’m totally in.