Be My Guest Monday! Lessons Learned

Hello everyone and welcome back to Be My Guest Monday! Today's guest blogger is Working Mommy. She's a wife, a mother, a member of the "working world," a blogger, and she just celebrated both her birthday and her 1-year wedding anniversary. Congratulations!!! Her post is also so extraordinary it made me cry. Well, grab a tissue and read on.

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A lot of you may not know me...I am Working Mommy from Lessons Learned. I am a brutally honest mommy blogger who works more than I'd like!! Come on by, take a seat, prop up your feet and stay for a while. If you're lucky, I might even provide a few libations (YAY RUM!)!!





I was so excited to get the opportunity to post about something extraordinary in my life and am honored to be featured today!!

So, it took me a little bit to figure out exactly what I would write about. I mean, my parents are two of the most extraordinary people I know. When they were my age, they found out that they couldn't have children of their own...so they decided to adopt me. Growing up we always joked that I was really the one who adopted them. They definitely made me the person I am today and I couldn't be more thankful for their constant and continued love and support!

Then I thought back to a few of my teachers throughout my education career. My third grade and sixth grade teachers made such a huge impact on the future of my education. My third grade teacher always said I would be the first woman President and she never let me become a slacker - even though that was the easier choice. I also had a few high school teachers - my senior anatomy teacher, my junior homeroom teacher and my french teacher (all 4 years) - who would push me to always be the best. They never gave up on me, even when I wanted to give up on myself. I recently found out the my french teacher's cancer has come back and she isn't doing well. My heart goes out to her family.

The one person who I wanted to highlight, though, is my husband. The man and I met on Match.com and after our first date, we knew we wanted to be together forever. We had been talking about getting married and having children in a year or so...but we never knew that a wedding and a baby would occur quicker than we had been planning!!

Not having known the man for very long before we got pregnant concerned me a little. I didn't know how he would react when the babe finally made her appearance in the world. I know now that my fears were misplaced...and I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father! The day of my induction, I was worried about the drugs, being in the hospital, the pushing, my lack of a shower...I could go on forever.

After I was all drugged up (which was FABULOUS, by the way) I was oblivious to most other things that were going on around me. I tried to sleep as much as possible because I knew that pushing was going to take a lot out of me. I told the man that no matter what happened he should just keep taking pictures...because I wasn't going to remember anything and he would be too scarred to tell me the story. It was only AFTER we got home and uploaded those pictures that I found these:

I wasn't quite sure why he took these pictures and the man actually forgot about taking them - until I asked about them.

Me: "These are silly (the man). Why would you take pictures of the IV's I was hooked up to??"

The Man: "It might seem silly to you, but I wanted to take pictures as proof."

Me: "Proof of what?"

The Man: "Well, I have never watched a birth before and I wasn't sure what to expect withe the babe's birth. I took them as a worst case scenario just in case anything happened to you or the baby. Then the nurses and doctors couldn't deny what medications you were on...because I would have photo proof."

Me: "Who thinks of those types of things?"

The Man: "I do...and I'm glad I did."

Me: "Why is that?"

The Man: "You might not remember, but right after the babe came out, your OB was very concerned. She ordered the nurse to turn up your drugs because you were bleeding out. I was scared. I didn't know whether to stay with my wife - who might not make it - or go to our baby - whose umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and wasn't crying. Taking those pictures early made it easier for me to do both and know that I had photo proof, just in case."

I honestly don't know anyone else who would have thought about that...not even my parents would have been THAT observant. So, my post today is dedicated to my extraordinary husband who, even though he acts paranoid sometimes, was able to think of every possible thing - even under pressure.