The Adventure of Motherhood

We recently got the wonderful news that we’re expecting Baby #3. (Yay!) I thought by the third time around, discovering we were pregnant would feel old hat. It didn’t. I was just as shocked and in awe at this news as the first time we found out we were expecting. Truly. I literally screamed “I’M PREGNANT!” to my husband before I even made it out of the bathroom with the positive pregnancy
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Each time I find out I’m pregnant, it’s like the world is born anew. I see everything with fresh eyes. Colors are brighter and food is tastier. (Of course, after a couple weeks, the unbearable morning sickness comes for a nice, long visit and food is my arch nemesis until well into the second trimester.)

But in the moments that I’m able to distract myself from the queasiness, I remember all the things I can’t wait to introduce my baby to. I want baby to love the giant live oaks draped in spanish moss that line the canopy roads of my hometown. I can’t wait to read Peter Pan to those precious newborn ears as my baby drifts off to sleep. I look forward to all the “firsts” my baby will experience: bathtime, Christmas, ice cream, bacon! There are so many wonderful sights, sounds, books, people, and experiences I can’t wait to share with this new little one. So many things I can’t wait to teach my baby.

But then I remember that the real adventure is not what I’m going to teach this baby but what I’m going to learn from my child. I already know what I want to share with my baby. The question is, what this new precious life is going to teach me? How is this new baby going to stretch, challenge, delight, and change me? I can’t wait to find out. I can’t wait to start this new adventure.