I'm Pregnant

No, I haven't pulled off some medical miracle, reminiscent of Arnold Schwartzenegger's box-office bomb "Junior."
It's the title of my first work, which will appear in the latest "Chicken Soup for the Soul" release, called "New Moms."
Having been inspired by a fellow blogger from my local area who had a story of her own published, I decided to write my own real-life story; that of a new dad's perception of his wife's thoughts when faced with a pregnancy for the very first time.
Without going into detail, because of course I want you to buy the book, the story begins with the discussion my wife and I had prior to our becoming parents on July 19, 2009 with the birth of our daughter, Savannah.  Or for the pro-life movement, maybe we actually became parents in November of 2008.  I don't know.  Though I am Catholic, time-stamping the event was the least of my worries.
My wife and I married later in life.  I had just turned 37 and she was going on 34.  She was 36 at the time of Savannah's birth.  In the span between these two wonderful events, we enjoyed our time together as a couple.
I think perhaps I enjoyed it more than she did.  I relished the idea of being carefree and able to take off wherever we wanted, and when we wanted.  We even came up with a name for it...The Adventures of Ken and Margie.
Then one day, she sat me down for 'the talk'.  When were we going to talk about family?
She had that teary-eyed look that demanded that I not try and make a game or a joke out of it, though she does like my sense of humor.
I wasn't trying to avoid the issue.  But having been around enough kids, I had had my fill of passive parents who let their children run wild with no concept of discipline whatsoever.  There was no way on earth that I was going to enter parenthood with someone that embraced such a lackadaisical philosophy.
Much to my surprise, Margie told me that she wanted the same thing for our child.
"I'm not going to be one of 'those' parents," I said adamantly.  "I'm going to be a strict parent, and my word is law.  Even if it means spanking to get my point across.  I've had enough of people who are too afraid to handle their children appropriately to correct ill-mannered behaviors."
"Honey...I get it.  I want that too."
This was all I needed to hear.  Nonetheless, I wasn't in a hurry to get things started.  Finally, Margie one day took matters into her own hands and said she wanted us to start trying.
We were more fertile than we ever imagined, with Margie uttering the above title one November day. 
Fear gave way to relief.  It was meant to be.  We had the happy and healthy little girl we both wanted that sunny July day.


NEXT WEEK:  Cherishing the Childless