It all started when... Laura woke up on our last day of vacation in Key Largo with lots of our family enjoying the Florida sunfor a week. As we were about to start packing up for a plane back to the Grand Rapids snow that was covering every inch of everything Laura sat up and said that she felt sick to her stomach for a quick second and then it passed. I honestly thought she had just gotten up too fast and really didn't think much about it. We had been trying to get pregnant but we both didn't really make the connection that day of how our lives were about to change.
The next couple days she continued to feel sick and she caught on much sooner than I did. I remember a few days later walking into the bathroom after getting home from work and seeing a positive pregnancy tester in the bathroom (There could have been more than one but I can't remember much after that) I went in the room and had a wonderful moment.
This was such a wonderful secret to have and we were careful not to tell anyone until we were to a point that we knew the pregnancy had a good healthy start. We had been trying for two years and knew there could be many hurdles in front of us and wanted to make sure we moved slow...good for me that was my normal pace!
Then our lives gets crazy with a new job offer that moves me away from Laura and Grand Rapids to beautiful Traverse City. It was a hard decision that we didn't take lightly but we thought in the long run it was worth the risk. While it has been hard we have been lucky with the Skype option and regular meetings in Grand Rapids that allow us to see each other as much as possible.
It gets more and more interesting as Laura has had job interviews here in Traverse City as she has begun showing. It has posed many interesting questions about if you should tell the employer that you are pregnant? Do you stop trying for a job until after the child is born because it doesn't make sense to you or the employer at some point? What is a pre-existing condition and how do you navigate that minefield when changing jobs? How do you rent a house when you are on one income (a non-profit income at that), or do you move in with family? How do you move back home when you haven't lived in your parents house in 14 years in my case? Lots of really interesting but exhausting things to consider.
We are getting close to Laura moving up and hopefully might catch a break or two with the living situation. We have been lucky to have the support of family in this tsunami of a life transition that we are going through and that has meant a great deal to us.
I think this blog will be interesting because every step of the way we are continuously making little decisions that eventually will shape the rest of our lives. Most people have already made them but its amazing to see what sticks out or what has grabbed every one's attention. Who knows, but if anyone remembers what I was like as a kid (I've only heard good stories of me being an angel) then payback could be an awfully interesting journey!
-Matt
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Intro
Yes, the description is correct. We were inseparable until I got pregnant. It seems I have been tasked with writing our first blog entry. So I figured some background would be nice.
Matt had been trying to find a different job for 4 years. He was working as a store manager at a sporting goods store and although it was a good job, he was miserable most of the time. We had been together for a few months before he took to job and I saw his personality change because of his job. He wasn't the happy-go-lucky, positive Matt anymore. We were hoping this was going to be temporary and he'd find something non-profit related, we just didn't know temporary meant 4 years.
In the meantime, we got married and a short time later decided we should start trying to have kids, because who knew how long that would take! That ended up taking about almost 2 years. It wasn't as painful a process as some have or as expensive, but still frustrating. We told no one, unlike the job search, where just about everyone knew Matt was looking for something new.
So in March 2011, we found out I was pregnant! Awesome! Finally! Then in April of 2011, Matt was offered a new job...160 miles away from where we currently lived. Awesome! Finally! ...Wait a second...relocate...while pregnant...leave my great job I have...hmmm....let's think about this one. After a few long, tearful, exciting nights of discussion, we decided to do it, we can make all of this work. Matt and I have never liked to take the easy way out, we've been taking risks since our first date (having Matt's friends come along is a good one). Why stop now.? What if it's another 4 years before he finds something else? That is something we just weren't willing to deal with. We needed to make a change and we did.
We didn't want to continue down the same road and then 10 years later say, what happened? We are choosing to live life and not let life live us. I think Matt and I both believe if we weren't meant to have all of these things happen all at once, why would God put these life changes before us at the same time? And of course my two favorite cliche's... "what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger" and "everything happens for a reason." (I think some of that optimism is still left over. I'm not the most optimistic person, that was Matt's role, but I had to take that over for a little while. But I'm happy he's back to it.)
So since May, Matt has been living in Traverse City and I have been living in Grand Rapids. We have had an interesting summer, but are surviving. Meadow (our dog) has certainly enjoyed her weekend vacations!
Matt had the idea of this blog, having both of our perspectives on our pregnancy and, soon, parenting. We'll see how this goes. We are thinking of a post a week. We may both talk about the same situation, we may talk about totally different situations. It's a surprise! Hopefully, you enjoy it. :) Oh and by the way - I am now 28 weeks.
Matt had been trying to find a different job for 4 years. He was working as a store manager at a sporting goods store and although it was a good job, he was miserable most of the time. We had been together for a few months before he took to job and I saw his personality change because of his job. He wasn't the happy-go-lucky, positive Matt anymore. We were hoping this was going to be temporary and he'd find something non-profit related, we just didn't know temporary meant 4 years.
In the meantime, we got married and a short time later decided we should start trying to have kids, because who knew how long that would take! That ended up taking about almost 2 years. It wasn't as painful a process as some have or as expensive, but still frustrating. We told no one, unlike the job search, where just about everyone knew Matt was looking for something new.
So in March 2011, we found out I was pregnant! Awesome! Finally! Then in April of 2011, Matt was offered a new job...160 miles away from where we currently lived. Awesome! Finally! ...Wait a second...relocate...while pregnant...leave my great job I have...hmmm....let's think about this one. After a few long, tearful, exciting nights of discussion, we decided to do it, we can make all of this work. Matt and I have never liked to take the easy way out, we've been taking risks since our first date (having Matt's friends come along is a good one). Why stop now.? What if it's another 4 years before he finds something else? That is something we just weren't willing to deal with. We needed to make a change and we did.
We didn't want to continue down the same road and then 10 years later say, what happened? We are choosing to live life and not let life live us. I think Matt and I both believe if we weren't meant to have all of these things happen all at once, why would God put these life changes before us at the same time? And of course my two favorite cliche's... "what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger" and "everything happens for a reason." (I think some of that optimism is still left over. I'm not the most optimistic person, that was Matt's role, but I had to take that over for a little while. But I'm happy he's back to it.)
So since May, Matt has been living in Traverse City and I have been living in Grand Rapids. We have had an interesting summer, but are surviving. Meadow (our dog) has certainly enjoyed her weekend vacations!
Matt had the idea of this blog, having both of our perspectives on our pregnancy and, soon, parenting. We'll see how this goes. We are thinking of a post a week. We may both talk about the same situation, we may talk about totally different situations. It's a surprise! Hopefully, you enjoy it. :) Oh and by the way - I am now 28 weeks.
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