Once Upon a Time, We Were Newlyweds

Yes... newlyweds. 

I remember after the Husband and I got married and returned home from our honeymoon, we were living in the Husband’s parent’s basement apartment while we searched for a home of our own.  ("Husband's parent's basement"... try saying THAT five time fast).

Whilst on our honeymoon, about as newlywed as you can get.

One night, while lying next to the Husband in our bed, just basking in the glory of being that close to the person you love the most… I was suddenly overcome with this out of control HUNGER… for a baby.  (SOUND THE CRAZY ALARM!!!)

We’ve all heard tales (especially in Mormon rich Utah), of young girls getting married and becoming mothers right away (whether by choice or by accident).  My own father was a honeymoon baby.  My grandmother used to pray that her baby (my dad) would make it to his due date, to avoid becoming to topic of the neighborhood gossip… “No wonder Wels and Wynona got married... They HAD to”… “Tsk, tsk… yet another Wayne county shot gun wedding”... that sort of gossip. 

There was a girl I went to high school with whose family had a history of being SO fertile, that on her honeymoon she used TWO forms of birth control and still (somehow) found herself knocked up just a few weeks later.

So, logically, I thought to myself, "What's the big deal, people have babies right off the bat ALL of the time."

Well, as I was lying next to the husband, overcome with a desire to have babies (lots of them), as soon as possible… I decided to test the waters… see how the Husband felt about my baby hunger (mind you, we had literally been married for less than a couple of weeks).

Me: I think we should start trying for a baby.

Husband: (crickets chirping)

I rolled the Husband over (certain I had triggered a heart attack) to find a look of horror on his face.  I wasn’t going to let him off the hook just yet.  Although I suspected his look meant “We need to commit you to the psych ward”, I was hoping it meant, “I was just thinking the exact same thing!”

Me: Well….? (Arms crossed, impatiently tapping foot)

Husband: uh… um… don’t you think we should get used to being married first? (gulp)

The poor thing.  I don’t blame him one bit for his reaction.  I mean, honestly I look back on this memory with SUCH embarrassment.  What made me think I was ready for such a life changing experience?  What made me think the Husband was ready?

That conversation that night led us to asking in nearly every one of our prayers together “help us know when we should start a family”.  Deep down I wanted more than anything for the answer to be “now”… but it wasn’t.  I suppose the Husband was more in tune with what was best for us than I was… he has always been a bit more “in tune” than I (I blame it on his ever calm demeanor). 

To be continued....