On a Sunday night, I was in my bathroom and noticed that I had two remaining home pregnancy tests when I had previously thought there was only one left. It was a couple of days early to test, but since I had two left I figured I’d go ahead and use one right then. After I did my part, I immediately cleaned off the plastic stick and held it up in the light. The horizontal line appeared right away and so did the vertical test line, but nothing else. I let the disappointment sink in, and I set the stick on the counter while I went to wash my hands and brush my teeth. When I was done I glanced over at it again, and I could hardly believe my eyes. Now there was also a vertical line making a big fat plus sign!!!
I was so shocked because I didn’t feel any different than how I normally feel. I really thought that I’d just feel magically different somehow when I became pregnant - that I would intuitively just know that I was, and the test would merely confirm it. Once the moment of disbelief had passed and I triple-checked the stick to make sure it wasn’t just my eyes playing tricks on me, I went in search of Phil.
I found him in the garage, where the attic ladder was pulled down and he was tossing empty boxes up. I heard that he was on the phone, so I tried to be patient and allow him to finish his conversation. Unfortunately, I soon realized that he was entangled in a very long and boring-sounding conversation with his dad. I had my proof stuck in the waistband of my pajama pants and I just wanted to wave it in front of him so he’d know! However, I thought that wouldn’t be the most “special” memory so I held off.
For about the next 15 minutes I tried to motion him into the unused bedroom (now a nursery in the works) and act like I needed his help organizing some of the junk and unpacked boxes we had piled in there from our move just a few weeks prior. He kept looking more and more annoyed and tried to indicate through motions that we could just take the dogs on a walk while he kept talking with his dad. We were having a near-argument through merely waving hands in the air. Then I decided to text him:
Me (8:51 PM) - Can u please end your convo ASAP? Not trying to be rude.
Phil (8:52 PM) - He’s talking about Mema.
Me (8:53 PM) - Please?
Finally, a minute or two later, I heard him say, “Uh... Dad? Dad? I’m sorry, I have to go, can I call you back about this in a little while? …. Ok. Bye.” and then he came around the corner from the family room into the bedroom hallway yelling in a loud voice with drawn-out words, and I quote, “Oh my freeeeeaking goodness! What is so important??” Very uncharacteristic of Phil to get so annoyed with me.
Now, here is where I *almost* tried to play around a little bit. I was thinking that I would say, “Oh - I need your help straightening up this room!” and he’d say, “Right now? That’s why I had to interrupt my phone call?” and I’d reply, “Yes! We only have 9 months to get it ready, and the clock is ticking!”
However, I decided that the best-case scenario would be that I’d get a cute chuckle out of him, whereas the worst-case scenario is would be that I’d accidentally goad him into an actual fight, since he was obviously pretty irritated already. It wasn’t worth the risk! So I threw cuteness out the window, and in response to his question, I gave him a huge smile, and while waltzing towards him, yelled in an equally loud yet sing-songy voice, “We’re having a baaaaaby! I’m pregnant!”
I will never forget the instant change in his expression! I can't remember a time when I have seen him smile so big! We spent the rest of the evening laughing about his instant mood change and talking excitedly about our much-anticipated little blessing.
