Ten Years Ago!

My baby is ten-years-old! It's been ten years since I've had a baby! With all the fuss going on lately about 7-7-07, I'm reminded of my lucky day ... 7-9-97. Not that all of my babies being born weren't incredible days, but I think even more incredible than giving birth is that of being finished with that phase of life. It's a BIG DEAL! We grow up as little girls looking forward to being mothers, excited about what the future holds as we see how many will end up occupying our homes. As teenagers, barely a day goes by that we don't think of it. We begin scribbling down lists of our children's potential names while we're still children! The anticipation is almost more than we can bare as we picture in our mind's eye what lies ahead of us.

Then it happens. We get married, we get pregnant, we get sick, we get fat. I know that there are those out there who truly love being pregnant and having babies. I'll admit it ... I was NOT one of them. I don't like throwing up, but they say it is a sign of a healthy pregnancy, so let's just say ... my pregnancies were all extremely healthy. I know there are those who actually miss the feeling of their child kicking them from the womb ... again, not me. It's really kind of a miserable thing for me to even think about - even ten years later!

But the fact is, that it's worth it. It's actually quite commendable to any child to realize what we go through to be able to create these additions to our families. We don't just do it out of ignorance, but we learn firsthand what is entailed and we choose to do it over and over again.

Then the time comes that we must start wondering ... if we are done. This is possibly one of the questions that we wrestle with more than any other. In my experience, the wrestling began far before the children stopped coming. I was like a six-year-old kid on a very long car ride "Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet?" Again I say, this is a BIG DEAL!

I think that most of us agree, that our babies being delivered into our hands is like a direct link to Heaven. It takes a lot of intense, deep, thought provoking and heartfelt pondering and prayer to make the decision to sever that link. But let me just say, that once that decision is truly made ... not almost made, but TRULY made without a shadow of a doubt ... IT'S FANTASTIC!

Now I realize, like I couldn't have years ago, that having children is far more than the day they are born. Having babies really isn't my favorite part, and I am realizing every day that THIS part is. As my babies grow up, my life is enhanced. Every new phase that they enter into, is a new phase that I enter also. Right now I am much more than a mother of five. I am a mother of a missionary, a mother of a beautiful young college student, a mother of (and biggest fan of) a football player, a mother of a boy who wants to fly, and a mother of a great little chef. I have never been one to look back on my decision to be finished having babies with one ounce or one second of regret. However, I am one who can look back ten years and be so grateful for where I am today and just be excited about what the next ten years has to offer. Happy Birthday Garrison!