Saturday, June 23, 2012

Doesn't Matter How You Get There Just That You Arrived

Sweet Baby J and I many years ago

Many years ago, I was diagnosed with Graves' Disease.  For those of you not familiar, Graves' Disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid.  It is basically a ridiculously overactive thyroid.  My thyroid was the Arnold Schwarzenegger version of thyroids. (Admit it. You're doing the Arnold voice in your head right now.)

While my doctor was treating me with medication, he explained that I should not get pregnant during this time because it would be considered a high risk pregnancy.  He went on to say that even if my thyroid levels were at normal levels in the future that I may have trouble with my thyroid putting me at high risk if I ever got pregnant.

To say this news was troubling would be putting it mildly.  When I was diagnosed, Jeff and I were newlyweds so we were not yet thinking about children. 

But let's be honest. 

After I said, "I do", I constantly dreamed of the day when I would be pregnant, when we would have children of our own.

Once my thyroid levels were under control two years later, Jeff and I went about our business as usual.  We were not trying to get pregnant but we were also not trying to prohibit it either.

For the next couple of years, we worked on establishing our careers and obtaining our Master's degrees.  We built a big, beautiful house.  We had a little beagle named JJ who was the sweetest dog ever.

Life was good.  We had a good life.  Things were going well for us.

However, I am not going to lie.  I wanted to have a baby.  I wanted to be a mom.  I wanted that little person to be part of me and part of my husband.  

What I didn't want was to talk about it.  If I talked about and said it out loud, then it would confirm what I already was thinking.  I could not get pregnant.

So, miracle of all miracles, I became pregnant six years after getting my thyroid under control.  Then, thirteen months later, I was pregnant with my second little guy. To say we were shocked would be the understatement of the year!

We were going to have a baby.  I was going to be a mom.  Words cannot describe it. Elated. Ecstatic. Excited. Scared. Hopeful.

Some moms are not as blessed as I am.  Some moms have to have help getting pregnant.

To those moms who are undergoing artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization. Your commitment and endurance is inspiring.

To those moms who have adopted children.  Your willingness to open your hearts and your homes to a child is a testament to the warmth of the human spirit.

To those moms who have lost their children.  Your courage to persevere after walking though what I imagine is the shadow-of-the-valley-of-death gives me the strength to face my hardest of times.

It doesn't matter if you are a mom for five minutes or for eighty years.  It doesn't matter if you are a mom to one child or twenty.  It doesn't matter if you have kids via natural birth or via c-section.

At the end of the journey, the result is the same.

You are a mom.

It doesn't matter how you get there, just that you arrived.


84 comments:

  1. Lovely post. So glad your little sweetie came into your life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful! No better calling than to be a mom - congratulations! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Tina! I appreciate you visiting!

      Delete
  3. What a wonderful post! I was scrolling through Saturday Sharefest and chose yours for some reason and am so glad I did. I'm a mom to two boys and thankful every day for the privilege.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Louise, you just made my day! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Being a mom is a huge blessing!
    Michelle
    http://normalchaosforamultitaskmom.blogspot.com/2012/06/place-i-need-to-be.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

    Stopping by from SITS. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Robin! Glad you stopped by for a visit!

      Delete
  6. ABSOLUTELY!!! And to think I didn't want to have children. I am the happiest, proudest Mama ever. And I really believe this is part of my Purpose! The biggest part... the degree and other stuff pales in comparison.
    In from SITS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the support! Glad you stopped by to visit!

      Delete
  7. This was beautiful! I loved this post. As a mother, I agree. So happy your dream of being a mother came true. Stopping in from Yeah Write #63.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Crystal! Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  8. I will be forwarding this post to my wife. If you spend any time on my blog, you'll see why. Thank you for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Travis, you are welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  9. Such an important post. Lovely stuff. Happy to have made my way here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Aidan! I appreciate your kind words. Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  10. Very sweet post. I love what you said about not mattering how you got there, just that you arrived. So true!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It doesn't matter how you get there -- so true! Your wee ones are as lucky to have you as a mom as you are to have them as kids.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your kind words. Glad you stopped by for a visit!

      Delete
  12. Amen to that. Blessings to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sweet post. Children are great (most of the time.) So happy it worked out for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by!

      Delete
  14. Beautiful post, thank you. I am a mom to one little amazing 5-year-old girl and have struggled at times with being a working mom. a mom-to-only-one. Does that make me less of a mom in the eyes of parents with multiple children? Do I have it "easier"? Thank you for sharing this post!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melisa, you are welcome. I appreciate the nice words and you stopping by!

      Delete
  15. Aw, how sweet. Glad it worked out for you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful and sentimental post. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dawn! Glad you stopped by for a visit!

      Delete
  17. Perfectly true, nothing else really matter....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't agree more! Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  18. It's true! I am glad you shared this and reminded me that I am blessed and that's all I need to know right now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christie, life is what you make it! :)
      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  19. Oh, my sister has Graves Disease, I feel for what you were going through. She has 5 kids now. Yeesh!

    I love this post. We all have our stories, no?
    Stopping in from SITS, have a lovely day!
    Tara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tara, thanks for the kind words. Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  20. love the doesn't matter how you get there line. perfect. i have a blood disorder that has lead to some life threatening blood clots and worries about pregnancy. yet, i was gifted with two beautiful children. yet, if somehow my body failed me, i still would have been a mama. you are so right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tara, thanks for the support! Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  21. Replies
    1. Joe, you are right! Let's not forget the dads that have gone through this along side the moms!
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  22. Replies
    1. Yes sir. Good things do come to those who wait but sometimes waiting is the hardest part!
      Thanks for visiting!

      Delete
  23. Poignant. Powerful message speaking to the significance of being a mom who is present with her children after they arrive...no matter how they arrive. And very insightful and honoring of life itself. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kimberly! I appreciate the kind words.
      Glad you stopped by!

      Delete
  24. So true: once you are a mom, you're a mom. Beautiful post. So glad that everything worked out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Such a lovely post. I absolutely agree. Congrats on your beautiful family!

    ReplyDelete
  26. sobbing so hard right now...we tried for six years and did IVF to get our son. It was a tough pregnancy and traumatic birth, but in the end we have a miracle and that is all that matters. you are so wise woman, just having and loving our children is enough to fill our hearts and lives.

    ReplyDelete
  27. oh...and HAPPY SITS DAY

    ReplyDelete
  28. Beautiful Post. I love every bit of it. We are so blessed to be mothers! Enjoy your SITS day!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I really appreciate this post! We are struggling with infertility and about to start our second attempt at IVF in hopes that it will bring us baby number 1. Thank you for believing and understanding that all babies are special no matter how they get here!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Michelle...thank you for sharing such an important time in your life. Beautiful!! So happy that you have those two precious little boys. I have 4..crazy right? 3 of them are grown and out in the world doing their own thing (31-26-25)and then I received a miracle of a gift by getting pregnant at 44...another boy (He's almost 10)and he is my ROCK!!

    You are right about all those that can be a mom but you left out one other woman that can be considered it too (at least I believe) that sister, aunt, friend (who can't have a child of their own) that dotes on our children by being there when they need them, giving them a part of themselves when they really don't have to. They have the heart of a mom!!!

    Hugs,
    Regi

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lovely post! My mom, grandma, me and my oldest son all have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (the opposite end of the same spectrum). My mom was told she'd never have children - and the Lord blessed her with 3 (I have a twin sister and a younger brother)! I know a few others who have struggled, some who have never been able to have their own so they adopted, some who had miracle babies, and some who have babes in Heaven waiting for them. This post touched my heart. Thank you for posting it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Very well said, I'm an older mom and I got grief from people about waiting so late. I wouldn't have it any other way, I love my girls. Happy SITS Day.

    ReplyDelete
  33. happy SITS day! I'm so glad I clicked on this post, it brought tears to my eyes. i have hashimoto's, which is auto-immune hypothyroid disease. I am lucky to have a beautiful 6 year old daughter, who is more than I could ever expect. But, I have also had loss. I'm just curious if you have ever looked into the GAPS diet. I'm considering it. Supposedly, it helps heal auto-immune disorders.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Inspiring! And so true that it doesn't matter how you get there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Amen. There is nothing more important or sacred to me than my role as a mom. Thanks for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  36. This is a beautiful post. You are absolutely right - it doesn't matter how we got here or how long ago we arrived, we're mothers. Congrats on your beautiful family!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Thanks for sharing your story, Michelle.

    ReplyDelete
  38. What a beautiful post and a reminder to all those mothers out there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Well said!! I am so happy that you are able to experience motherhood. It is a precious gift!

    ReplyDelete
  40. This is a super sweet post! I have graves' disease too! you're the only other person I have ever come across! Glad you got your two miracle babies!

    ReplyDelete
  41. What a great touching post! Thank you for giving me something to think about today. Congratulations on your babies!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Great post! I love what you had to say. Happy SITS Day! :)

    ReplyDelete
  43. just lovely and I do agree! happy sits day.
    -ap

    ReplyDelete
  44. what a beautiful post! so very true. congratulations on your wonderful family!

    ReplyDelete
  45. This is beautiful and I couldn't agree more. To be a mother is to be blessed. It is such a privilege.
    Your family is beautiful! May you continue to find the happiness that comes with the adventures of being Mom.
    Following from SITS girls, congrats on being featured.

    ReplyDelete
  46. BEAUTIFUL!! Look at all these comments!! WOOT! Doing a happy dance with you right now! Love your inspiring words. Nice job on this one!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Love you post, miracles to happen!

    ReplyDelete
  48. You're right, once you're officially married you can't wait to have a little person made from love. I'm happy that you were blessed with two little people. I can only imagine what you were feeling when you thought you couldn't have any at all.

    Happy SITS day :)

    ReplyDelete
  49. This was so beautiful! It took me until I was 40 to have a baby but I got there! Love your words.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Beautiful post! Being a mom is the best, isn't it?

    (I came from A Mother Life's Hump Day Hook Up.)

    ReplyDelete
  51. So wonderful you got to be a mom against the odds. Thanks for linking up at the Hump Day Hook Up

    ReplyDelete
  52. Oh this was wonderful. So well said. Docs told us we couldn't get preggers without IVF, so we did that and had our first. Six months later we were preggo again, "spontaneously" the doctor said. Heh. Congrats to you and to all of us still trying for the best job on earth.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Unquestionably believe that that you stated. Your favourite justification seemed to
    be on the internet the easiest factor to consider of.
    I say to you, I definitely get annoyed at the same time as folks consider concerns that they plainly don't recognise about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and outlined out the entire thing without having side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thank you

    Feel free to visit my site: cold sore

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading and commenting!