Pup Tents..

I have a great friend Shelley. We had our children within months of each other and they grew up being great friends.

I hated being pregnant. I never bonded with the little devils while they were in wombhood. I liked to feel them move around, but they didn't do much of that, they were so happy floating around. Maybe they knew too much so they thought they'd better chill as much as they could before the reality of their parents slapped their new behinds. Anyway, back to Shelley. Being the poor newlyweds that we were, and still are, Shelley asked me if I would like to borrow her maternity bras, but warned me that they were pretty big. They were expensive you know. I humored her and said that would be great. When she brought them over I took one look and thought, "Crimany! Cut an opening in those babies and we could go camping in there! Of course they won't fit!" You know the rest of the story. They fit like a glove? or pup tent. I was very grateful. Only your best friends would gently let you know that, yes, you are that enormous!

I just thought I'd throw in a bit of humor, but Shelley's pregnancies were nothing close to funny. For some reason, she started passing out. No warning, nothing. She would be leading the music in Sac. meeting and boom, she'd pass out. It got worse and worse as the pregnancies advanced. And with each additional pregnancy, it became so severe that she could never be left alone. On one of my turns to be with her, I said something like, "I bet you hate being pregnant." I'll never forget her reply. She said something like, "Oh no! I love it! Every morning when I wake up I feel excited, still a little drowsy and not knowing why. And then I remember. I'm pregnant and it feels like Christmas morning everyday!"

I was shocked to say the least, and mostly humbled. My friend Shelley, in fear of loosing her life and the life of her baby, only saw the richness of the miracle of carrying a life. She has three incredible, beautiful children that hopefully know of the miracles that come from the love of a mother, their mother.

Miracles come in many ways. Shelley taught me a great lesson that day. Look for the positive even, and maybe especially, during the dark times. I'm doing that now Shelley, though I am still a little pissed that the pup tents fit!