When something major happens in life, it is a great blessing to be able to have your family supporting you, even if they do not agree with you. My separation from Justin came as a HUGE shock to my family, as they truly never saw it coming. Like I said, I always made it a point not to speak about my marriage troubles with anyone. The less anyone knew of my drama, the less judgement I would receive.
I remember getting everything ready and decorated for Christmas. It seemed like it had been such a long time since I had last seen Rodney. My family was just getting used to the idea that I had managed to separate from my husband of 5 years and jump into another relationship, as well as being in a relationship with a man 10 years older than me and from a different country. Rodney was finally going to be able to meet my entire family, not just my immediate family members. All of my family seemed to fall in love with Rodney right away, of course they all loved his British accent just as much as I do. They were all very interested to hear about his time in the Army, how we met, what his interests are, where he has traveled, etc. At first, we told everyone that we met in Las Vegas, it was so much easier than explaining that we met online & not on a dating site (which is the first thing people think unfortunately).
Christmas came and went so quick but the memories will last forever. The smiles, the laughter, and the look on Mark’s face when he woke up on Christmas morning will be treasured forever. It was winding down and becoming quiet after we got back home from visiting both sides of my family and playing with Mark and all of his new toys. Mark finally fell asleep and Rodney and I finally had a chance to sit down and talk about our hopes and dreams in some very much needed peace and quiet. There was so much going on leading up to Christmas that we didn’t have much time to catch up and make plans. We talked about him retiring from the Army, getting our divorces finalized, getting married and having a beautiful baby girl to add to our family. The plans we made were in that order and we decided together that once he returned from Christmas break, he would resign after 18 years in the British Army. Rodney knew that he wouldn’t have much time left before he could retire but he knew that he just couldn’t wait that long and to be truthful, neither could I.
New Years Eve arrived and boy did we had an amazing night ahead of us. Rodney & I met with a group of friends of mine, we were all dressed our best and we were ready to party! We brought in the New Year in style at one of the top night clubs in Alabama. We were all enjoying ourselves and the champagne toast was like something you only see in the movies. To me, it was a magical night and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
The sun was beginning to rise by the time we would arrive back home and would finally get some sleep, but we were still not tired. We talked for what seemed like hours before we finally drifted off and before we realized it, we had slept the day away. When we finally woke up that evening, I had a weird feeling that something was about to happen. I had a feeling that a BIG change was coming.
Rodney left again for Canada a few days later and for some reason, I felt at ease about him leaving. Usually I would be in tears before we would even arrive at the airport but this time, I was feeling content. I knew it wouldn’t be long again before he returned to see me and that if everything went well, he would be with me forever within the next few months. I kissed him goodbye before he walked through the security check point and I walked back to the car with a smile. I had not felt this content in quite some time and the drive home was easier than before as well. When I returned home, I made sure Skype was on and ready for Rodney’s call, oh how I missed him so much already.
The week after his return Rodney had managed to walk into his commanding officer’s office and tell him he wanted to resign. Of course his commanding officer and everyone else in his troop were baffled at his quick decision and wanted to know why he suddenly wanted to leave. When Rodney explained that he had met someone, the questions started pouring in. To them, his former marriage was great and there were no issues, they couldn’t understand how he was wanting to leave and move to America to be with another woman. As you can imagine, I was being considered a “home wrecker” and yet they had never met me. In fact, some probably still say that about me, but I will not defend myself to someone that I have never had a chance to meet.
It was the first week of February and I wasn’t feeling very well. It was nearly a week of not having energy and just wanting to sleep the majority of the day, even if I did have a toddler that was keeping me busy. I was talking to Rodney on Skype and I mentioned to him how exhausted I was and that no matter how much rest I would have, I wouldn’t feel any better. Rodney gave me the weirdest look and said “Do you think you could be pregnant?”. I laughed and said “Nah..but if it makes you feel any better, I have an extra pregnancy test in my bathroom”. I went to take the test and returned with it in hand. I told Rodney that when I found out I was pregnant with Mark, the test came up positive almost immediately. I waited the two minutes as instructed by the directions and after those two minutes it was not showing those double lines. I laughed and said to Rodney, “See, I told you I wasn’t pregnant”. We continued talking about other things throughout the next 30 minutes. I got up to grab a drink from the fridge but as I walked past the coffee table, I noticed the pregnancy test that I had just taken 30 minutes earlier, did not look the same. After stepping back from the fridge, I picked up the test to have a closer look. Rodney could tell I was back by the computer but I wasn’t quite in his view. He asked if something was wrong and after a bit of stuttering, I managed to mumble the words “I’m pregnant”.
Of course it was an initial shock! We were both excited but I couldn’t help to worry about what my family was going to say. How was I going to tell them, especially my grandparents, that I have not even been separated 6 months and already pregnant by another man. Even worse that I wasn’t yet married to this man. I could already hear the whispers at church even louder than before, even if I did only attend on occasion. But I knew that I had a precious child growing in my belly, and I have never felt so calm. Here I was, embarking on a new journey, not just a new journey but a whole new life, and what a way to start that off! It was as if I was getting a second chance at life!
I decided to keep the news a secret for the time being until I could figure out a way to peacefully break the news to the family. I told Justin about it and he actually seemed okay with it. In fact, he seemed to be excited for me, Lord knows that wasn’t the reaction that I was expecting. Justin was even there when I took another pregnancy test that would digitally tell me approximately how far along I was. The test concluded that I was 4-6 weeks. I then called my doctor to let them know about the positive pregnancy tests and was informed that the doctors have now changed their policy that they only see pregnant patients after they have reached 8 weeks of pregnancy. I thanked the Nurse as she scheduled my 8 week appointment, after all, there wasn’t much to be done that early in the pregnancy anyway. Later that day, I decided I would go break the news to my Nana and my mom but still wanted to keep it a secret until after my first appointment.
As I sat down to tell my Nana, I had the feeling that she already knew. She didn’t seem near as shocked or upset as I thought she would be. She even said that she was noticing a change in me and my body. Let’s face it, we all have those clairvoyant grandmother’s that seem to know everything that happens before it does and my Nana is always right on point. She was supportive but did say that this was happening at a tough time, especially since Justin & I had not officially filed for divorce yet. Justin was still traveling so much with work and since we both had agreed on everything, we figured we would just go to the same attorney and sign the papers together. My mom was very shocked, her initial reaction was “Christina, this is the wrong time to be having a baby” but it sunk in pretty quick and she turned excited almost immediately.
A few days after telling my Nana & my mom about my pregnancy, I started having cramps. I laid down in hopes to ease them but noticed a bit of bleeding shortly after the cramps started. I immediately called my doctors office and spoke with the nurse. She wanted me to come in the next morning for an ultrasound and advised me to stay in the bed for the rest of the night until I could get in to see them.
The next morning, my Nana took me to the doctor. We both knew the possible outcome and she didn’t want me to be alone. Rodney was worried but since there wasn’t much he could do from Canada, he called me every hour to check on me. The nurse took me back to the ultrasound room where I anxiously waited for my name to be called. After what seemed like hours of waiting, I was finally called back. My Nana held my hand during the ultrasound and the nurse noticed a tear in the uterine wall. At first she said it could be from Implantation Bleeding but that it looked much larger than that. She smiled and assured me the baby was fine and even printed off some pictures for us. At that time, the baby only looked like a little worm but to me, that was MY little worm and I couldn’t have been more proud. As soon as my Nana laid eyes on the ultrasound machine and saw that beautiful life growing inside of me, she started crying. She was excited! She was happy for me! It was as if her doubt just drifted away and all was right in her world again. The doctor explained to us that the tear may get a little bigger before it heals so I was to be on bed rest for the next two weeks.
It was official and those pregnancy tests weren’t wrong…I was going to be a mommy again!
christinaaldridge 