Groundhog's Day

Groundhog’s Day

We are all ready for cooler weather after a scorching hot summer and I am especially waiting for the fall temperatures.   This past winter was unusually mild, which might explain the three digit readings on our thermometers the last few months.  With pumpkin spice and the autumn colors on our minds, we are obviously not even thinking about the winter.  And definitely not about what the groundhog will predict for the duration of the next winter season.

Groundhog’s Day has a different meaning for me this year.  No, I am not thinking about the movie that stars Bill Murray when he relives the same day over and over again.  Nor am I am thinking about the event in Philadelphia where a furry creature is highlighted for leaving or staying in his burrow to determine another six weeks of winter.  February 2^nd has become a day that has been embedded in my mind since June.  Groundhog’s Day is not symbolic for people’s lives, but with mine at this moment, it questions if I will stay burrowed in my hole for the next 4 months hidden from the world or will I emerge to see the sunshine.  February 2^nd, instead of following the groundhog’s shadow, I will focus on my daughter entering the world.

 

I did not expect motherhood to be in my future.  My friends and family knew Trisha would be the woman devoted to her career, traveling, and continuing to serve others in the teaching profession.  Yes, I am a dedicated educator who loves being with young people, but being a parent is a completely different experience, a challenging experience.  After watching my younger sister and friends become parents the last few years, I became even more amazed at how moms and dads are able to balance so many responsibilities (and still stay somewhat sane).  I could not imagine losing my peaceful hours of sleep each night and spending an entire hour preparing for a trip to the grocery store.  I would not have the energy to go to soccer games and piano practice after exerting all of my energy during a busy school day.  Then worrying about what decisions the child would make in middle and high school.  So it was evident that my mind was made up---no children. 

She is already talking with her hands!

It is crazy how my decision quickly changed when seeing a little being on the ultrasound screen.   Hearing her heartbeat left me speechless.  There has never been a more powerful moment than seeing her little hand waving during the last doctor visit (she has her daddy’s skinny fingers).  Another exciting moment was revealing the surprise of a boy or girl when my 2-year old niece opened the package in front of my entire family.  We all shrieked with excitement when Lelia Kate held up the pink fleece jumpsuit.  My intuition was a boy, so wearing blue, I was completely shocked that it was a little girl.

 

She will become my best friend to hopefully mirror the same close relationship between my own mother and me.  She will consider her older cousin to be a role model and they will grow up playing with Barbies and taking care of each other just like their mothers did during their childhood.   She will be a technology native only a few days old to skype with her older sister who lives so many miles away.  She will be another princess in her daddy’s life and will have her grandfather wrapped around her little finger. 

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.  Sometimes surprises become the best blessings and we must accept that the unexpected plans become our destiny.   All of us have our own stories of the surprises that eventually define us.  The news of this little girl deserves to be celebrated and not hidden.  So I am emerging from my burrow to become prepared for the sleepless nights, soccer games, and teenage drama.  I will see the sunshine and I am tickled pink.