Lately, we have had many friends going through many hard things, walking roads that are too long with loads that are too big to carry. I've been thinking a lot about Romans 8:28, which says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (NIV.) And here is what I've been thinking: all of these years I've thought and probably been told that God will work things out for good for ME. I've centered this Scripture on myself. But what if, WHAT IF, this is more about God working things out for good for the good of US, for all of us who believe or have come before us and believed and who do not yet believe and who will believe in the future? What if my pain, sorrow, grief, and suffering is to somehow be used for the good of someone else? I don't mean that they profit from it or take some sort of sadistic joy in it or anything. I think what I mean could be more of a "butterfly effect," wherein God sees the OVERALL picture of all time and all people and sees how things will interact and what cause and effect they will have in the grand scheme of things and works things out for good in that sense; or what I mean could be that He uses it ALL for good.
My thoughts here have centered on this idea of the good of US, though, rather than the good of ME. If God is working things out for good for US, is my heart ready for that?
I wrote the two paragraphs above some time ago; maybe a year, maybe longer. And today, realizing it was National Infertility Awareness Week, I came back to this neglected space to perhaps write something. When I did, I found the above, bringing to mind all the thoughts and emotions and prayers that have been swirling about in my head.
We're often asked questions like, "Will you adopt?" "What have you tried?" "Do you know what's wrong?" I often try to answer: "I don't know." "Well, we've tried what people 'usually' try when they want to have a baby." and "Yes, what the doctors told us, we know."
Almost ten years into marriage, nine years into trying to have a baby, and incredibly close to forty years of living, here is what I've learned about infertility:
There is no "right" way to handle it. I have friends who have adopted and had no biological children of their own. I have friends who have multiple biological children of their own and none who are adopted. I have friends who have a combination of adopted and biological children. I have friends who have conceived through IUI, in-vitro, and through the "good, old-fashioned" method. I have friends who have no children of their own. I have friends with one-year-olds, friends who are pregnant, and friends with grown children/grandchildren. Every single one of them has a journey and a story to tell. It may be happy, it may be heartbreaking; but it is there. Listen to it. Listen to them, to where they're coming from and where they hope to go. And if where they hope to go changes quickly or often, have grace and love them through it. That will mean more than anything else.
Children are a blessing. For a long time, I thought (and, truth be told, sometimes still do,) that I've done something wrong, that I am not "good enough" for the blessing of children. You know what? No matter what I think or feel, children are still a blessing. My nephew is a blessing when he asks for his uncle and my heart soars because I know how much the little guy loves my husband. My niece is a blessing when I get a phone call from my brother (like today!) telling me how much she reminds me of him, and when I see her using chopsticks on her birthday. My Goddaughter is a blessing when she eagerly tells me about her fair projects and asks me questions that I don't know the answer to. Her siblings are blessings when I get to hold them and read to them and laugh with them and empathize with them. Every child I've met is a blessing.
Maybe part of life is acceptance. This is the part where people usually want to argue. They do it with heartfelt intentions and the belief that I deserve good things. When they do it, I feel so loved and so heartsick at the same time. Loved because they want good things for me and believe I deserve them. Heartsick because I just want them to sit with me in the pain, and the joy, and the grief; for most, that proves too difficult. So hear me out, all you who love me or who just happen to be reading this: I am on a journey of acceptance.
What happens if I don't have children?
Here are just a few examples:
- I get to pour myself into my nieces and nephews and Goddaughter and loved ones. When you're a parent, you are pouring yourself into and out for your children, as you well should. If some among us do not have children, those are extra sets of hands to help lift you and yours up, to help you thrive.
- I get to look at the community around me and figure out where I can help. Sometimes that looks like a Board or a service project or an event. For me, more often than not, it looks like working long hours to be as sure as I can be that people have what they need to be successful. To be sure that parents have resources and can feed their kids and become stronger parents. To be sure that the staff I work with have the time and energy to pour into their own children and their own families. To be sure that I leave the world a little better than I found it.
- I get to experience things that many, many people do not get to experience in this way. I am carried by One so much greater than I, and I rest in that every day. Do I "feel" it every day? Nope. Do I ever have doubts? You betcha. But every day that I get out of bed, that I put one foot in front of the other, that I get to love, I thank Him for that day.
- I get to enjoy my marriage. At a conference last week, I was asked what my "spark" was. I think there are several things; one of them, which I didn't write down, is working on my marriage. It is living every day together and realizing it may always just be the two of us and knowing that just the two of us will be okay.
So, wherever you are, whoever you are; whether you're a parent or a singleton or a widow, a Christian or a Muslim or an Athiest, I hope you know the blessing of your daily joys. They are all around you. Embrace them. You deserve them.
Much Love,
Katrina
Monday, April 24, 2017
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Grief
It happens to be Infertility Awareness Week. It also happens to be almost two years since my last blog post. So, you know, it also happens to be when I've had a little time to think and therefore post.
I read something yesterday that stuck with me: "I feel like I relate to people who are grieving the loss of a close family member, because I regularly feel the ache of grief in my chest. Grief is a major part of what’s going on inside my mind and heart. It’s difficult to articulate because I’m grieving a lack, not a loss" ( http://www.hopeduringinfertility.com/to-my-mama-friends-infertility-niaw/.) Grief. It sucks. And it really, really sucks when it is "a lack, not a loss."
Grief is how this post all ties together. Since I live in and out of active grief, I am often processing it. One of the fascinating (and bizarre,) side effects is that I find myself processing all sorts of grief. I am ALL over the place. I grieve the loss of my father at a young age and the fact that I didn't get to know him better as an adult. That actually seems pretty normal to me. And then I find myself grieving for all sorts of other things. My first love, who fell in love with my roommate. Being jealous for too much of my life. My lack of adventurousness. The lack of spending regular time with the friends of my youth. A friend who, once I revealed my heart, revealed his - that he was pursuing someone else. Being fat. The grief and the weight of guilt, the guilt that I have carried most of my life.
In some ways, I think this is SUPER healthy - I'm a firm believer in processing things. Also, I think that the addition of antidepressants to my life has helped my brain and my psyche become "unstuck." So, I find myself having revelations and realizations about things that happened 5, 10, 20 years ago. (A humorous side effect of this is that when I've shared some of these with dear friends, their responses are typically, "well, yeah." It makes me laugh and also be thankful that I have friends like that.) In other ways, I sort of shake myself out of these reveries and make myself be present in the here and now.
The grief of the past seems easier to process. I've processed it before, and it has some definitive answers: "they are together because they are a way better match than the two of you would have been. Things worked out as they should." The ongoing, new grief is agonizing. I never know when it will pop up, and I never know when I will end up in tears. (Cows with their calves on the side of the road? Why not cry?)
So, thanks to all of you who are walking with me through the crazy grief. It helps me laugh at the days to come with you by my side!
*If you have a friend who does not have children and it is not by choice, this is a great week to give her a hug! And him! It is hard on both!
I read something yesterday that stuck with me: "I feel like I relate to people who are grieving the loss of a close family member, because I regularly feel the ache of grief in my chest. Grief is a major part of what’s going on inside my mind and heart. It’s difficult to articulate because I’m grieving a lack, not a loss" ( http://www.hopeduringinfertility.com/to-my-mama-friends-infertility-niaw/.) Grief. It sucks. And it really, really sucks when it is "a lack, not a loss."
Grief is how this post all ties together. Since I live in and out of active grief, I am often processing it. One of the fascinating (and bizarre,) side effects is that I find myself processing all sorts of grief. I am ALL over the place. I grieve the loss of my father at a young age and the fact that I didn't get to know him better as an adult. That actually seems pretty normal to me. And then I find myself grieving for all sorts of other things. My first love, who fell in love with my roommate. Being jealous for too much of my life. My lack of adventurousness. The lack of spending regular time with the friends of my youth. A friend who, once I revealed my heart, revealed his - that he was pursuing someone else. Being fat. The grief and the weight of guilt, the guilt that I have carried most of my life.
In some ways, I think this is SUPER healthy - I'm a firm believer in processing things. Also, I think that the addition of antidepressants to my life has helped my brain and my psyche become "unstuck." So, I find myself having revelations and realizations about things that happened 5, 10, 20 years ago. (A humorous side effect of this is that when I've shared some of these with dear friends, their responses are typically, "well, yeah." It makes me laugh and also be thankful that I have friends like that.) In other ways, I sort of shake myself out of these reveries and make myself be present in the here and now.
The grief of the past seems easier to process. I've processed it before, and it has some definitive answers: "they are together because they are a way better match than the two of you would have been. Things worked out as they should." The ongoing, new grief is agonizing. I never know when it will pop up, and I never know when I will end up in tears. (Cows with their calves on the side of the road? Why not cry?)
So, thanks to all of you who are walking with me through the crazy grief. It helps me laugh at the days to come with you by my side!
*If you have a friend who does not have children and it is not by choice, this is a great week to give her a hug! And him! It is hard on both!
Friday, June 27, 2014
The Trauma of No Baby
I do some of my best thinking in the shower. This morning, while washing off yesterday's dirt, I was thinking about how J and I have been married for almost 7 years and how I've heard that the 7 year mark is often when people separate or divorce. Perplexed, I thought, "In some ways, I feel like I am just now getting to know J!" This was quickly followed by the thought that we haven't experienced a traumatic event, like a major illness or the death of a close family member. Yes, we've had some bad times, but apparently nothing that my brain equated with"trauma." And then I thought, "well, there is the whole no baby thing."
The trauma of no baby is a real one. It is a trauma of absence, of hope unfulfilled. It is a longing and a struggle, and I have no doubt that it can destroy marriages. The focus becomes the gaping hole you imagined would "complete" your family, not on the family you have. The focus becomes when to be intimate, when not to, and what the medical professionals think you should do next, not enjoying each other, laughing together, and thanking God for modern medicine while realizing that God is still God.
So, if you know a couple who has been dealing with the trauma of no baby, encourage them to reconnect with and enjoy each other. Maybe you buy them a gift card to restaurant for a date night. Maybe you offer to dog sit so they can go away for a few days. Maybe you let them know there's a free concert in the park with some wonderful music that you think they would like. It can be a gesture large or small in scale, but it will be appreciated.
The trauma of no baby is a real one. It is a trauma of absence, of hope unfulfilled. It is a longing and a struggle, and I have no doubt that it can destroy marriages. The focus becomes the gaping hole you imagined would "complete" your family, not on the family you have. The focus becomes when to be intimate, when not to, and what the medical professionals think you should do next, not enjoying each other, laughing together, and thanking God for modern medicine while realizing that God is still God.
So, if you know a couple who has been dealing with the trauma of no baby, encourage them to reconnect with and enjoy each other. Maybe you buy them a gift card to restaurant for a date night. Maybe you offer to dog sit so they can go away for a few days. Maybe you let them know there's a free concert in the park with some wonderful music that you think they would like. It can be a gesture large or small in scale, but it will be appreciated.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Abraham and Sarah
My last post was just what it said it was: raw. It made people worry and it was, even to me, somewhat melodramatic. Not that emotion in it isn't real - it is - just that when I am writing from a very emotional place, things get a little overly expressed.
I have been thinking a LOT about Abraham and Sarah. God had a plan for them. Well, He had lots of plans for them, but I am thinking specifically of His plan that they would have a child of their own, even though they were very old. The whole story is told in Genesis, and chapter 15 is where I really start thinking about the story. At this point Abraham and Sarah are so old that Sarah actually laughs when God (through an angel,) tells her that she will have a son. She is past child-bearing age. There is no earthly way she will conceive.
At this point in our lives, there is an incredibly slim chance that we will conceive a child. Even if we did not have identified fertility issues, it becomes less likely each passing year that we would be able to conceive a child. There are ways to try to combat this: fertility treatments, shots, changes to bodies, and other means to get to the big goal. And it is so tempting. In fact, the temptation gets easier to want to say yes to, as more and more people in our lives suggest or imply that these means are justified, that there is medical technology in place to help us. All of that is true. And none of those things are bad. For some, they are the solution.
But not for us.
I don't say that lightly, and I don't say it as a never-to-be-altered declarative statement. I say it because whenever J and I slog through the pile of emotions and thoughts that go with this mess, it becomes clear that this is not the path for us.
And I come back to the story of Sarah and Abraham. Do you remember the other adult in the story of their fertility? Hagar. She was Sarah's servant, and Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her so that through her Sarah could have a child (Genesis 16:1-4). This was, I think, an accepted practice of this time. Abraham made Hagar "his wife," they had sex, and she conceived. Voila! Problem solved. There was nothing inherently wrong with it. It was a culturally accepted way to have a child.
Except that it wasn't what God wanted or promised for Abraham and Sarah.
Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham AFTER God had made a huge, specific promise to Abraham: "But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:2-6.) God has promised an heir of their own flesh and blood, yet they still find an alternate plan, because it seems so absurd that they would have their own child.
Now, God still notices Hagar and still notices her child, and there's a different plan in place there, but my point is that Abraham and Sarah, despite having a specific promise from God, chose to go down a culturally accepted, very rational, very practical road to have a child. It just wasn't the road God promised or preferred. He really meant it when he said that they would have a child of their own.
"Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
It doesn't mean that God didn't use the whole situation for good. But it did give us a whole other branch of people. I am very rusty on my Old Testament history, but if Abraham and Hagar had not had Ishmael, how would things be different?
I'm straying from my point. My point is that this story encourages me. It buoys me up in the moments when I think I am going to drown. God made a promise and He kept it. Has God made a promise like that to me and J? No, not really. But every time we start to think and talk about going down a more culturally accepted road, we feel resistance. We feel like it is not the right path for us. And oh, how I want to ignore it sometimes! I want to rush to the doctor before I change my mind and have them pump me and J full of the drugs they say might work.
But I don't think that is God's plan. That is my plan. My solution to the problem. God's plan isn't done yet. It may mean being childless. It may mean adopting, which is something we are talking more about now, and I am praying that God would remove my fears about it. It may mean having a child of our own. It might mean something else entirely. But I want to find out. I want to see what His plan is, because if nothing else, I know it is good.
I have been thinking a LOT about Abraham and Sarah. God had a plan for them. Well, He had lots of plans for them, but I am thinking specifically of His plan that they would have a child of their own, even though they were very old. The whole story is told in Genesis, and chapter 15 is where I really start thinking about the story. At this point Abraham and Sarah are so old that Sarah actually laughs when God (through an angel,) tells her that she will have a son. She is past child-bearing age. There is no earthly way she will conceive.
At this point in our lives, there is an incredibly slim chance that we will conceive a child. Even if we did not have identified fertility issues, it becomes less likely each passing year that we would be able to conceive a child. There are ways to try to combat this: fertility treatments, shots, changes to bodies, and other means to get to the big goal. And it is so tempting. In fact, the temptation gets easier to want to say yes to, as more and more people in our lives suggest or imply that these means are justified, that there is medical technology in place to help us. All of that is true. And none of those things are bad. For some, they are the solution.
But not for us.
I don't say that lightly, and I don't say it as a never-to-be-altered declarative statement. I say it because whenever J and I slog through the pile of emotions and thoughts that go with this mess, it becomes clear that this is not the path for us.
And I come back to the story of Sarah and Abraham. Do you remember the other adult in the story of their fertility? Hagar. She was Sarah's servant, and Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her so that through her Sarah could have a child (Genesis 16:1-4). This was, I think, an accepted practice of this time. Abraham made Hagar "his wife," they had sex, and she conceived. Voila! Problem solved. There was nothing inherently wrong with it. It was a culturally accepted way to have a child.
Except that it wasn't what God wanted or promised for Abraham and Sarah.
Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham AFTER God had made a huge, specific promise to Abraham: "But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:2-6.) God has promised an heir of their own flesh and blood, yet they still find an alternate plan, because it seems so absurd that they would have their own child.
Now, God still notices Hagar and still notices her child, and there's a different plan in place there, but my point is that Abraham and Sarah, despite having a specific promise from God, chose to go down a culturally accepted, very rational, very practical road to have a child. It just wasn't the road God promised or preferred. He really meant it when he said that they would have a child of their own.
"Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
It doesn't mean that God didn't use the whole situation for good. But it did give us a whole other branch of people. I am very rusty on my Old Testament history, but if Abraham and Hagar had not had Ishmael, how would things be different?
I'm straying from my point. My point is that this story encourages me. It buoys me up in the moments when I think I am going to drown. God made a promise and He kept it. Has God made a promise like that to me and J? No, not really. But every time we start to think and talk about going down a more culturally accepted road, we feel resistance. We feel like it is not the right path for us. And oh, how I want to ignore it sometimes! I want to rush to the doctor before I change my mind and have them pump me and J full of the drugs they say might work.
But I don't think that is God's plan. That is my plan. My solution to the problem. God's plan isn't done yet. It may mean being childless. It may mean adopting, which is something we are talking more about now, and I am praying that God would remove my fears about it. It may mean having a child of our own. It might mean something else entirely. But I want to find out. I want to see what His plan is, because if nothing else, I know it is good.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Raw
The first three paragraphs of this post contain one of the better descriptions I've read of how infertility feels. (The site is set up so you cannot copy and paste text, so please click on the link to read it.)
Today is hard. The
hardest it has been in a long time and I don’t want to start the New Year this
way. I don’t want the coming year to be
filled with hard. I know life is not
full of easy, but I sure would appreciate a year of not hard.
Today I want to give up.
I’m still standing, but just barely.
I feel like a shark, hurting, wounded, but still swimming because if I
stop I may never get up again. Every
fiber wants to get in bed and stay there.
I don’t want to work, I don’t want to play, I don’t want to talk to
anyone or pretend everything’s going to be okay and that I have some special
unwavering faith and that is why God has placed us on this journey.
The truth is that my faith wavers every day. Every day I just want to stop trying. To find refuge in the shallow. Sleep.
Food. Even alcohol is tempting. Anything that promises to make this easier. Because it sucks. I feel like I could cry for days on end and
there would still be tears. Tears for
dreams unfulfilled. Tears for
myself. Tears for J. Tears for my mom and for J and E who may
never know the joy of cousins. Tears for
the jealousy in my heart and the envy I feel.
For no one else I know personally has this struggle. NO ONE in my group of friends has had any
trouble conceiving. They are the
opposite, the “Fertile Myrtles” of the world.
And I know that all of their journeys are different than ours and that
we aren’t meant to be the same and they all have their own struggles and
private heartaches. But this is
mine. And I don’t know if my heart will
ever be okay with it. Some days it seems
like it will. But others it feels like
it is going to explode. And then I won’t
have any heart left. Already I hide it,
this heart that is fickle and hurts so much, because I don’t want anyone to see
this pain. I don’t want people to see
the part of me that gives up, that finds life to be too much. I don’t want them to see me. I don’t want people who have no idea what
this feels like to offer advice and words and possible meanings. I want to be left alone. And I want to be paid attention to. It’s a lose lose situation. No one can win with me, the way I am right
now, so I hide, so that no one can even really try. Because I don’t want them to fail, to feel
badly, to know that nothing can make it better.
It doesn’t work, you know, hiding it. I don’t hide it as well as I think I do, and
when I do I am really just doing a disservice to everyone and not trusting
anyone. There’s a lot of pain in showing
it, but a lot of joy, too, when I realize that someone loves me anyway. Someone loves me in spite of the ugly.
I am so tired. My soul is weary. I pray that the year to come is not like how I feel today.
A shark swims to move water across its gills
Which keeps oxygen in its lungs
And life in his body.
He doesn’t stop, and if he does
He is clever about it, finding
The vents in the tanks at Sea World
And stationing himself there,
A veteran of the aquarium who no one
Dares mess with.
I move to keep the blood flowing,
To keep my heart beating
And life in my body.
I don’t dare stop, for if I do
It will be the end of my cleverness,
Of hiding the failure of my body
And of my mind.
I am a veteran of infertility who no one
Dares mess with.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
WHAM
I haven't posted in quite a while, and unfortunately this is not going to be some well thought out, deeply meaningful post. In fact, it is probably going to by whiny and negative and probably kinda judgmental. Not how I usually strive to be, but here it is. (So if you're less than impressed and/or highly irritated by negativity, just skip this one. Seriously.)
Facebook, you kill me. I have endured more pregnancy announcements than I thought possible. I have congratulated just about every dang person who has posted cutsie pictures, clever announcements, "aren't you all surprised (but not really)" posts, "oops, we're just SO fertile" posts, clever posts, not-so-clever-posts, and so many more ways to tell people you're going to have a baby. Many of these people, were it not for Facebook, would never make this announcement to me especially, but because we're Facebook friends, I get it all. And I'm never prepared for it, which makes it worse. I'm scrolling, reading things like how expensive people's dinners were or how much they had to do today and WHAM....WHAM WHAM. BABIES!!! BABIES, BABIES, BABIES.
Then there is the fact that the vast majority of my friends have children and want to Facebook brag about them. As they should. So, I get that, I'm coping, and then it becomes all about being a mother. And how when you're a MOTHER, everything changes and your life is just so blasted wonderful and you can't imagine a better life. Hmm, so if we never have children, my life can't be as good as yours? Seriously? And don't you think I already wrestle with that concept ALL THE TIME? Wondering if my life will always be incomplete because I didn't have kids? And with the election season, this has somehow gotten worse, as more and more people post more and more things and the politicians try to reach out to . . . you guessed it! Mothers!
But tonight took the cake. Scrolling along, seeing what's up, reading a post about my cousin getting free chicken nuggets, and all of a sudden there is a BREAST. (A completely separate post than the chicken nuggets, in case you're trying to figure that one out.) Granted, there is a baby attached to it and I know that breast feeding is ideal for a baby, blah, blah, blah, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO SEE A PICTURE OF IT ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE. It was actually something someone had posted on a Pinterest board about breastfeeding, but really? And to add insult to injury, this is someone who is recently pregnant after trying to have a baby for 8 years and recently being told it would never happen. And then she got pregnant, as many of those stories seem to go. So she dealt with this for 8 years and doesn't stop to think that posting a picture of a suckling infant on Facebook might be hurtful to someone?? Rub some more salt in the wound, why don't ya?
I know that NONE of this is done to hurt me or anyone else. I know that people are proud and loving parents who want to share their joy with the world. And I DO want to know what is happening in people's lives, otherwise I suppose I would just give up on Facebook altogether. I have some super-considerate friends on Facebook, too. One couple had a baby in the last year, and although they talk about her and post the occasional photo, they more often than not give a link to her photo page, so if you want to, you can look at as many pictures of her as you want. And most friends are very balanced in their posts. They talk about their kids, their spouses, their jobs, their exercise, their days, etc. And truth be told, I certainly care more about their families and big life events than I do about their exercise routines, and I care about THEM.
I guess what I'm saying is just . . . that I wish people would take a little more care, but I realize that may not be realistic or fair. And I can always control what comes into my Facebook world.
Okay, I am done with that long negative rant. I did have a very positive breakthrough this past weekend, so stay tuned! I hope to get that posted over the upcoming long weekend
Facebook, you kill me. I have endured more pregnancy announcements than I thought possible. I have congratulated just about every dang person who has posted cutsie pictures, clever announcements, "aren't you all surprised (but not really)" posts, "oops, we're just SO fertile" posts, clever posts, not-so-clever-posts, and so many more ways to tell people you're going to have a baby. Many of these people, were it not for Facebook, would never make this announcement to me especially, but because we're Facebook friends, I get it all. And I'm never prepared for it, which makes it worse. I'm scrolling, reading things like how expensive people's dinners were or how much they had to do today and WHAM....WHAM WHAM. BABIES!!! BABIES, BABIES, BABIES.
Then there is the fact that the vast majority of my friends have children and want to Facebook brag about them. As they should. So, I get that, I'm coping, and then it becomes all about being a mother. And how when you're a MOTHER, everything changes and your life is just so blasted wonderful and you can't imagine a better life. Hmm, so if we never have children, my life can't be as good as yours? Seriously? And don't you think I already wrestle with that concept ALL THE TIME? Wondering if my life will always be incomplete because I didn't have kids? And with the election season, this has somehow gotten worse, as more and more people post more and more things and the politicians try to reach out to . . . you guessed it! Mothers!
But tonight took the cake. Scrolling along, seeing what's up, reading a post about my cousin getting free chicken nuggets, and all of a sudden there is a BREAST. (A completely separate post than the chicken nuggets, in case you're trying to figure that one out.) Granted, there is a baby attached to it and I know that breast feeding is ideal for a baby, blah, blah, blah, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO SEE A PICTURE OF IT ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE. It was actually something someone had posted on a Pinterest board about breastfeeding, but really? And to add insult to injury, this is someone who is recently pregnant after trying to have a baby for 8 years and recently being told it would never happen. And then she got pregnant, as many of those stories seem to go. So she dealt with this for 8 years and doesn't stop to think that posting a picture of a suckling infant on Facebook might be hurtful to someone?? Rub some more salt in the wound, why don't ya?
I know that NONE of this is done to hurt me or anyone else. I know that people are proud and loving parents who want to share their joy with the world. And I DO want to know what is happening in people's lives, otherwise I suppose I would just give up on Facebook altogether. I have some super-considerate friends on Facebook, too. One couple had a baby in the last year, and although they talk about her and post the occasional photo, they more often than not give a link to her photo page, so if you want to, you can look at as many pictures of her as you want. And most friends are very balanced in their posts. They talk about their kids, their spouses, their jobs, their exercise, their days, etc. And truth be told, I certainly care more about their families and big life events than I do about their exercise routines, and I care about THEM.
I guess what I'm saying is just . . . that I wish people would take a little more care, but I realize that may not be realistic or fair. And I can always control what comes into my Facebook world.
Okay, I am done with that long negative rant. I did have a very positive breakthrough this past weekend, so stay tuned! I hope to get that posted over the upcoming long weekend
Saturday, April 28, 2012
A Glass Half Empty Sort of Day
I'm not sure I'll get through this post, but I have fallen back into not talking about things, so I need to try to get this out.
It is possible that I miscarried last month. At Easter, of all times. I have no definitive proof of this. My period started VERY early (almost a week,) and lasted longer than usual with some odd bleeding. Something happened and while I'll never know exactly what it was, the thought that I was pregnant, even if only for about a minute, is terrifying.
At least, today it's terrifying. Sometimes it's awe- and thanks-inspiring. It depends on if it is a glass half empty or a glass half full sort of day. Today I am tired and have been working nonstop and have had very little contact with loved ones, so it is a glass half empty day and it is terrifying.
Terrifying because it means that maybe we can get pregnant, and that maybe I can't carry a baby. That maybe we're dealing with two big issues here instead of one. I've said all along how thankful I am that we just weren't ever getting pregnant, because I didn't think I could handle getting pregnant and losing a baby. Which, honestly, might be part of the reason I am so unwilling to even consider IVF. (Along with a lot of other reasons, of course, but this is one very rooted in emotion.) And it's not good, how I feel. It could be worse. It WOULD be worse if I knew for sure we'd miscarried; it doesn't feel good nonetheless.
Terrifying because maybe I didn't miscarry and my body is doing something else, like early menopause or something that will completely destroy our hopes to have a child. I know this is unlikely, but hey, it's a glass half empty day, so bring on the unlikely!
Now, if this were a glass half full day, I would say that I am so thankful that maybe we CAN get pregnant, that the maybe-miscarriage was just a fluke and J's little guys are in perfect health! That this month or next I'll get that positive pregnancy test we long for (which, incidentally, would also be terrifying, but in a completely different way.) That it is awesome and amazing that we have been blessed with hope, with the opportunity to conceive.
Maybe this is just the way we're supposed to be, J and I. It's just that it is so lonely here. And I'm so tired. In typing that, I realized that I feel lonely for many different reasons, and that I am tired because I have been working like a maniac. So it's not all because we don't have kids - I'd be more tired then! But it's a glass half empty sort of day.
It is possible that I miscarried last month. At Easter, of all times. I have no definitive proof of this. My period started VERY early (almost a week,) and lasted longer than usual with some odd bleeding. Something happened and while I'll never know exactly what it was, the thought that I was pregnant, even if only for about a minute, is terrifying.
At least, today it's terrifying. Sometimes it's awe- and thanks-inspiring. It depends on if it is a glass half empty or a glass half full sort of day. Today I am tired and have been working nonstop and have had very little contact with loved ones, so it is a glass half empty day and it is terrifying.
Terrifying because it means that maybe we can get pregnant, and that maybe I can't carry a baby. That maybe we're dealing with two big issues here instead of one. I've said all along how thankful I am that we just weren't ever getting pregnant, because I didn't think I could handle getting pregnant and losing a baby. Which, honestly, might be part of the reason I am so unwilling to even consider IVF. (Along with a lot of other reasons, of course, but this is one very rooted in emotion.) And it's not good, how I feel. It could be worse. It WOULD be worse if I knew for sure we'd miscarried; it doesn't feel good nonetheless.
Terrifying because maybe I didn't miscarry and my body is doing something else, like early menopause or something that will completely destroy our hopes to have a child. I know this is unlikely, but hey, it's a glass half empty day, so bring on the unlikely!
Now, if this were a glass half full day, I would say that I am so thankful that maybe we CAN get pregnant, that the maybe-miscarriage was just a fluke and J's little guys are in perfect health! That this month or next I'll get that positive pregnancy test we long for (which, incidentally, would also be terrifying, but in a completely different way.) That it is awesome and amazing that we have been blessed with hope, with the opportunity to conceive.
Maybe this is just the way we're supposed to be, J and I. It's just that it is so lonely here. And I'm so tired. In typing that, I realized that I feel lonely for many different reasons, and that I am tired because I have been working like a maniac. So it's not all because we don't have kids - I'd be more tired then! But it's a glass half empty sort of day.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Life Should Be Cherished
I am pro-life. Yes, I am pro-life in the political/baby-rights sense of the word, but I am also simply for life. All life. One thing that I have noticed about myself since realizing that conceiving a child might not be a natural possibility for us is that I have much greater respect for life in general.
I have always been pretty sensitive to the "bigger" aspects of preserving life. As a child, I wanted everyone to be healthy and after realizing this did not always happen, found myself afraid that eventually everyone I loved would get sick and die. Morbid, yes, but a major fear, nonetheless. I was so sad when people died, and I didn't like it. This is still true today, naturally. What I sense now is a bigger sense of the preciousness of living things.
As I got older and became more aware of what was happening outside of my immediate circle, I started to see that life should be preserved on an even bigger stage. Life begins at conception and should be honored. On a universal level, I began to realize that every single human life is of the same incredible value to God. And if we truly value every life the same, why are there still people in the world dying because they don't have clean water? Should the death penalty be an option? Why are we punishing death with more death? (I don't have the answers to these questions. I just got to a point where I started to think about them.) I became more aware of life in a more "political" way, and in a more philosophical way.
Since learning that J and I may not be able to create life, I have come to cherish life in a whole different way. A dying plant makes me sad. Trees amaze me, surviving through one drought, one storm after another, all the while pointing their arms toward God. I feel attached to animals again, not just my own, but animals I read stories about or see on TV. And, of course, any story I read or hear about a human life ending brings sadness. Sometimes just an ache in my heart, sometimes some tears, sometimes sobs, and sometimes, incredible anger at the way we think life is expendable.
A good example has unfolded the past few weeks in Florida. Politics, protests, opinions, and race aside, a child is dead. A child walking home with Skittles. While everyone tries to make their point, the tragedy that a child lost his life is getting lost. The very thing that we should care about it getting lost in rhetoric and debate and an election year.
Another example can be found here. WARNING! This will haunt you. I'm not exaggerating when I use the word haunt. (B, I read it despite your warning. Don't read it again!) It is a dad's account and expression of sorrow after his wife's selective reduction. It is awful, and after I read it, I felt numb. Then mad, but not very surprised. This happens all the time. This is part of IVF and the infertility culture. This is what I desperately want to avoid. Life is wasted. It is thrown away every single day. Not just through abortion or selective reduction, but through poverty and violence and disease and people thinking that we can treat each other as though we are disposable.
Every life is valuable and should be cherished. Every single one. What a challenge to live life this way.
I have always been pretty sensitive to the "bigger" aspects of preserving life. As a child, I wanted everyone to be healthy and after realizing this did not always happen, found myself afraid that eventually everyone I loved would get sick and die. Morbid, yes, but a major fear, nonetheless. I was so sad when people died, and I didn't like it. This is still true today, naturally. What I sense now is a bigger sense of the preciousness of living things.
As I got older and became more aware of what was happening outside of my immediate circle, I started to see that life should be preserved on an even bigger stage. Life begins at conception and should be honored. On a universal level, I began to realize that every single human life is of the same incredible value to God. And if we truly value every life the same, why are there still people in the world dying because they don't have clean water? Should the death penalty be an option? Why are we punishing death with more death? (I don't have the answers to these questions. I just got to a point where I started to think about them.) I became more aware of life in a more "political" way, and in a more philosophical way.
Since learning that J and I may not be able to create life, I have come to cherish life in a whole different way. A dying plant makes me sad. Trees amaze me, surviving through one drought, one storm after another, all the while pointing their arms toward God. I feel attached to animals again, not just my own, but animals I read stories about or see on TV. And, of course, any story I read or hear about a human life ending brings sadness. Sometimes just an ache in my heart, sometimes some tears, sometimes sobs, and sometimes, incredible anger at the way we think life is expendable.
A good example has unfolded the past few weeks in Florida. Politics, protests, opinions, and race aside, a child is dead. A child walking home with Skittles. While everyone tries to make their point, the tragedy that a child lost his life is getting lost. The very thing that we should care about it getting lost in rhetoric and debate and an election year.
Another example can be found here. WARNING! This will haunt you. I'm not exaggerating when I use the word haunt. (B, I read it despite your warning. Don't read it again!) It is a dad's account and expression of sorrow after his wife's selective reduction. It is awful, and after I read it, I felt numb. Then mad, but not very surprised. This happens all the time. This is part of IVF and the infertility culture. This is what I desperately want to avoid. Life is wasted. It is thrown away every single day. Not just through abortion or selective reduction, but through poverty and violence and disease and people thinking that we can treat each other as though we are disposable.
Every life is valuable and should be cherished. Every single one. What a challenge to live life this way.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Selfish
Tonight a friend on Facebook linked to this blog. I looked at it with interest, thankful that the author also seems to veer away from things like IVF and other chemical treatments. It is a site I will be going back to and hope to find some like-minded peers there.
As I perused some of the information on the site, I became somewhat overwhelmed. Give up sugar, alcohol, caffeine, flour, shampoo, and have you ever considered that you might have Celiac Disease? But, I LIKE sugar, shampoo, caffeine, flour, and on occasion, alcohol. I don't want to give those things up! A lot of people get pregnant while eating those things, and alcohol only seems to increase the odds!
I felt like a spoiled brat thinking those things, because there are a lot of women out there right this second who are giving up things in the hope that they will become pregnant. There are a lot of women out there right now who have given up those things because they are pregnant. As well they should.
Now, I would like to have a baby, but I'm not sure what all I am willing to give up at this point to get there. And that got me thinking: am I just being selfish? If I were to get pregnant, I would give up caffeine, alcohol, and sugar, if needed, to keep that baby healthy. But at this point, we're talking about a theoretical baby, one that does not exist. So, am I selfish for not wanting to give things up to perhaps get to the theoretical baby being a real baby? It is entirely possible that I am. I have the utmost respect for women who give up so much for the chance at a child.
Now, one thing I have been thinking about and am trying to make small changes to work toward is a healthier lifestyle. Not easy. I struggle with food and exercise has never been my BFF, so you do the math. But Andy Dufresne dug himself out of prison with a rock hammer, so I suppose small efforts do pay off in the end. :-)
The caution here is a refrain I use often, but have a hard time following: "everything in moderation." While being healthier is great, if we are putting all of our hope in healthiness bringing us a baby, we will be disappointed. Sometimes the healthiest people do not conceive and sometimes the least healthiest do. All of them are loved just the same by our Heavenly Father.
It is a double-edged sword: it would be awful to get to the end of life thinking you avoided EVERYTHING that was bad for you and still didn't have a baby - think of all you missed out on. On the other hand, it would be awful to get to the end of your life and wonder if you had made healthier choices if a baby would be yours - think of all you missed out on.
As I perused some of the information on the site, I became somewhat overwhelmed. Give up sugar, alcohol, caffeine, flour, shampoo, and have you ever considered that you might have Celiac Disease? But, I LIKE sugar, shampoo, caffeine, flour, and on occasion, alcohol. I don't want to give those things up! A lot of people get pregnant while eating those things, and alcohol only seems to increase the odds!
I felt like a spoiled brat thinking those things, because there are a lot of women out there right this second who are giving up things in the hope that they will become pregnant. There are a lot of women out there right now who have given up those things because they are pregnant. As well they should.
Now, I would like to have a baby, but I'm not sure what all I am willing to give up at this point to get there. And that got me thinking: am I just being selfish? If I were to get pregnant, I would give up caffeine, alcohol, and sugar, if needed, to keep that baby healthy. But at this point, we're talking about a theoretical baby, one that does not exist. So, am I selfish for not wanting to give things up to perhaps get to the theoretical baby being a real baby? It is entirely possible that I am. I have the utmost respect for women who give up so much for the chance at a child.
Now, one thing I have been thinking about and am trying to make small changes to work toward is a healthier lifestyle. Not easy. I struggle with food and exercise has never been my BFF, so you do the math. But Andy Dufresne dug himself out of prison with a rock hammer, so I suppose small efforts do pay off in the end. :-)
The caution here is a refrain I use often, but have a hard time following: "everything in moderation." While being healthier is great, if we are putting all of our hope in healthiness bringing us a baby, we will be disappointed. Sometimes the healthiest people do not conceive and sometimes the least healthiest do. All of them are loved just the same by our Heavenly Father.
It is a double-edged sword: it would be awful to get to the end of life thinking you avoided EVERYTHING that was bad for you and still didn't have a baby - think of all you missed out on. On the other hand, it would be awful to get to the end of your life and wonder if you had made healthier choices if a baby would be yours - think of all you missed out on.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Fog
This time of year is always hard. Even when I am not actively thinking about my Dad, the knowledge that this is when he died is always there. Some years are better than others; this year has been particularly hard. On a positive note, I have been more sad this year. :) I know that may sound contradictory, but too often I don't feel anything, or not enough, anyway, so I will take sad. But the fog is hard. It makes it hard to move, hard to think, hard to get up in the morning, and hard to care about anything.
Today, a friend sent me this, and this quote broke through the fog, bringing me to tears:
"'So I would like to remind the couples who are experiencing the condition of infertility, that their vocation to marriage is no less because of this. Spouses, for their own baptismal and marriage vocation, are called to cooperate with God in the creation of a new humanity. The vocation to love, in fact, is a vocation to the gift of self and this is a possibility that no organic condition can prevent. There, where science has not yet found an answer, the answer that gives light comes from Christ.'”
Ahhh. Marriage itself is a calling. Marriage itself is valued by God. Thank you, Mr. Pope (Your Holiness?) for saying this, for shining light on hope for the hopeless, for speaking Truth where often there is none.
I think this is also a good reminder that there are many things that are complete on their own, namely a person. A single person is complete by his/herself and created. A life, conceived in any manner, is complete and created by God. LIFE is created by God. LIFE is all around us: plants, trees, birds, fish, dogs, giraffes, babies, the elderly -- it is all life and it is GOOD.
I will say more about LIFE later. For now, know that you, your marriage, your very being, is a life called unto God.
Today, a friend sent me this, and this quote broke through the fog, bringing me to tears:
"'So I would like to remind the couples who are experiencing the condition of infertility, that their vocation to marriage is no less because of this. Spouses, for their own baptismal and marriage vocation, are called to cooperate with God in the creation of a new humanity. The vocation to love, in fact, is a vocation to the gift of self and this is a possibility that no organic condition can prevent. There, where science has not yet found an answer, the answer that gives light comes from Christ.'”
Ahhh. Marriage itself is a calling. Marriage itself is valued by God. Thank you, Mr. Pope (Your Holiness?) for saying this, for shining light on hope for the hopeless, for speaking Truth where often there is none.
I think this is also a good reminder that there are many things that are complete on their own, namely a person. A single person is complete by his/herself and created. A life, conceived in any manner, is complete and created by God. LIFE is created by God. LIFE is all around us: plants, trees, birds, fish, dogs, giraffes, babies, the elderly -- it is all life and it is GOOD.
I will say more about LIFE later. For now, know that you, your marriage, your very being, is a life called unto God.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Empty
Tonight I sat at my mom's house and noticed something I had never noticed before: the way the picture wall is arranged reflects the stages of her children's lives. I had noticed the wedding picture of my brother and his wife, and the photo of me and my husband that was added after we were married. My sister isn't on this particular wall (there are several photo walls in their home,) because she is not married yet. What drew my attention tonight is that my mom has started adding pictures of her grandkids. So, my brother and sister-in-law's wedding photo is surrounded by several pictures of their son, their daughter, and all of them as a family. The other side of the wall contains one photo of Joe and I on our wedding day. No other photos surround us. We are alone on an empty side of the wall. And that makes me really sad. In this instance, the sadness isn't necessarily for us, though there is an element of that to everything, it seems; this sadness is for my mom, my dear, sweet mother who would love a house full of grandchildren and so far has only two. What if we never add to that wall? That makes me sad for her. This infertility thing not only involves the hopes of the two people trying to have a baby. It involves the hopes of grandparents-to-be, aunts and uncles in waiting, cousins who would love playmates, and friends who want to share this stage of life with us. It is hard to look beyond my own pain and sadness at this situation to see this, but sometimes I can look beyond the edges of it, like looking to the edge of a field, and catch a glimpse of how it might affect others. It's blurry, but it's there. Sometimes it makes it easier, focusing on someone else's perspective of the situation, and sometimes it just knocks the wind out of me, the knowledge that I am, again, albeit through no control of my own, letting people down. And that stinks.
Monday, January 16, 2012
All or Nothing
I am worried that I have taken a somewhat unhealthy approach to how I am dealing with INFERTILITY. That is what we're dealing with. Difficult to admit, but true. The approach I have taken is one of ALL or NOTHING. I either don't think about any of this at all, going about my daily responsibilities without really thinking of it, or I decide it's time to really face it, make some decisions, and move forward.
A dear friend asked me about the entire situation last weekend, which made me pause. I paused and thought a few different things: 1) "This is a good friend. Thank you God for good friends who aren't afraid to bring things up that may explode into a volcano of ickiness." 2) "Am I NOT dealing with this? Am I just ignoring it? What should I be doing?" 3) (Later in the day,) "Maybe it's time to bite the bullet. We should just go ahead and go to the doctor and do what he says."
Thankfully, I guess, I landed somewhere in the middle of all of that. I brought it up with J and we talked about it some. I had a terrible dream about having a horrible argument with the dear friend. I had trouble sleeping. So today I decided I would try to do some more reading about infertility, to try once again to find some information, some encouragement, from people who have been through what I have that wasn't all in "infertility terms." (If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit an infertility support website. Everyone is speaking in a foreign code containing things like "Lupron, BCP's, e2 levels, just to name a few.)
Here are some examples of what I found:
"Are you interested in or planning IVF? Ask about our multi-cycle discounts!"
"Most women simply don’t realize that at 30, a healthy woman has about a 20 percent chance of conceiving per month and by the time she reaches 40, her odds drop to about 5 percent, Collura said."
Wow. The first item makes me feel like Wal-Mart has gotten into the infertility business and wants to sell me IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) at their "Roll-Back Price." Or they're running a specials at Sam's. The second item blew every positive thought I had about trying to find encouragement right out of my head. According to it, I maybe have a 10-12% chance of having a baby, even without our infertility issues. Both of these items were found on websites for actual fertility clinics, by the way, not quacks selling drugs on the internet.
I am sitting here realizing that infertility has become a massive marketing market: Conceive NOW before it's too late! Don't miss this ONE TIME OFFER!*
*Offer may be hazardous to your physical, spiritual, and emotional health. May cause damaging side effects to your marriage. Side effects may include, but are not limited to: adversely affecting your body now and in the future, going bankrupt, being convinced that your body is not your own and that you MUST do these things because if you don't then there is 0 chance of a baby, and increased stress in every aspect of your life, including your marriage. No guarantees, no refunds.
AND THIS MAKES ME MAD!!!! Mad, mad, MAD. Why do I have to listen to these people? Why do I think I have to listen to these people? They don't know me. They don't know J. They don't know our bodies or our lives or the home we've built or anything else about us, but by golly, they will sell us the opportunity to put ourselves through hell and MAYBE, just maybe get a baby out of it. Maybe. Maybe not. They get paid either way.
And then I realize, I don't have to listen to them. I don't have to submit my body to their will, to what they say will make my body and J's body and our bodies together cooperate to have a child. The ONE I do have to listen to DOES know me. He knows J. He knows our hopes and our struggles and the things we cry about in the middle of the night. He knows our bodies from head to toe. He knows every hair on our heads. And he LOVES us. He's not trying to sell us something. He loves us, even in our sin, our darkest moments that we don't want anyone else to know about.
And HE has a plan for us. A plan that may or may not include children. Who am I to mess with that plan? Sarah messed with the plan, and though God made good things happen out of her impatience and disobedience, He would have preferred that she didn't mess with the plan. Elizabeth resigned herself to the stigma and sting of being barren, and she got to parent John the Baptist! Mary believed the COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE could happen with her fertility (a virgin had a baby!) and she had the incredible honor of bringing our Savior into the world as a baby and being entrusted by God to raise Him. The Bible is full of people who were obedient and disobedient with their fertility. (Remember the two women in the Old Testament who got their dad drunk on different nights and had sex with him. That wasn't God's plan!) I pray that I would be obedient to Him with my body, with my fertility, that J and I would listen and obey, no matter how hard it gets. That obedience may take us somewhere I haven't thought of and to places I am not comfortable in. But HE will be there, and that is what matters. I choose to TRUST the author of my life, to place it ALL in His hands, give Him ALL the glory, and REJOICE in His plan for me, for us. Giving Him my ALL may leave me with NOTHING, but NOTHING with Him is better than it ALL with the world.
A dear friend asked me about the entire situation last weekend, which made me pause. I paused and thought a few different things: 1) "This is a good friend. Thank you God for good friends who aren't afraid to bring things up that may explode into a volcano of ickiness." 2) "Am I NOT dealing with this? Am I just ignoring it? What should I be doing?" 3) (Later in the day,) "Maybe it's time to bite the bullet. We should just go ahead and go to the doctor and do what he says."
Thankfully, I guess, I landed somewhere in the middle of all of that. I brought it up with J and we talked about it some. I had a terrible dream about having a horrible argument with the dear friend. I had trouble sleeping. So today I decided I would try to do some more reading about infertility, to try once again to find some information, some encouragement, from people who have been through what I have that wasn't all in "infertility terms." (If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit an infertility support website. Everyone is speaking in a foreign code containing things like "Lupron, BCP's, e2 levels, just to name a few.)
Here are some examples of what I found:
"Are you interested in or planning IVF? Ask about our multi-cycle discounts!"
"Most women simply don’t realize that at 30, a healthy woman has about a 20 percent chance of conceiving per month and by the time she reaches 40, her odds drop to about 5 percent, Collura said."
Wow. The first item makes me feel like Wal-Mart has gotten into the infertility business and wants to sell me IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) at their "Roll-Back Price." Or they're running a specials at Sam's. The second item blew every positive thought I had about trying to find encouragement right out of my head. According to it, I maybe have a 10-12% chance of having a baby, even without our infertility issues. Both of these items were found on websites for actual fertility clinics, by the way, not quacks selling drugs on the internet.
I am sitting here realizing that infertility has become a massive marketing market: Conceive NOW before it's too late! Don't miss this ONE TIME OFFER!*
*Offer may be hazardous to your physical, spiritual, and emotional health. May cause damaging side effects to your marriage. Side effects may include, but are not limited to: adversely affecting your body now and in the future, going bankrupt, being convinced that your body is not your own and that you MUST do these things because if you don't then there is 0 chance of a baby, and increased stress in every aspect of your life, including your marriage. No guarantees, no refunds.
AND THIS MAKES ME MAD!!!! Mad, mad, MAD. Why do I have to listen to these people? Why do I think I have to listen to these people? They don't know me. They don't know J. They don't know our bodies or our lives or the home we've built or anything else about us, but by golly, they will sell us the opportunity to put ourselves through hell and MAYBE, just maybe get a baby out of it. Maybe. Maybe not. They get paid either way.
And then I realize, I don't have to listen to them. I don't have to submit my body to their will, to what they say will make my body and J's body and our bodies together cooperate to have a child. The ONE I do have to listen to DOES know me. He knows J. He knows our hopes and our struggles and the things we cry about in the middle of the night. He knows our bodies from head to toe. He knows every hair on our heads. And he LOVES us. He's not trying to sell us something. He loves us, even in our sin, our darkest moments that we don't want anyone else to know about.
And HE has a plan for us. A plan that may or may not include children. Who am I to mess with that plan? Sarah messed with the plan, and though God made good things happen out of her impatience and disobedience, He would have preferred that she didn't mess with the plan. Elizabeth resigned herself to the stigma and sting of being barren, and she got to parent John the Baptist! Mary believed the COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE could happen with her fertility (a virgin had a baby!) and she had the incredible honor of bringing our Savior into the world as a baby and being entrusted by God to raise Him. The Bible is full of people who were obedient and disobedient with their fertility. (Remember the two women in the Old Testament who got their dad drunk on different nights and had sex with him. That wasn't God's plan!) I pray that I would be obedient to Him with my body, with my fertility, that J and I would listen and obey, no matter how hard it gets. That obedience may take us somewhere I haven't thought of and to places I am not comfortable in. But HE will be there, and that is what matters. I choose to TRUST the author of my life, to place it ALL in His hands, give Him ALL the glory, and REJOICE in His plan for me, for us. Giving Him my ALL may leave me with NOTHING, but NOTHING with Him is better than it ALL with the world.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
What shall we tell the neighbors?
"When are you going to have kids?"
"When you have kids, you'll understand..."
I'm 34. My husband is 33. By pretty much everyone's standards (most everyone we come into contact with, at least,) we should have children or be on the verge of having children. Heck, by our standards we should be having children or be on the verge of having children. All of our friends are, by the bushel full, it seems.
It follows, then, that people would be curious about our child-free status. When we first got married, people would pretty much just ask when we were going to have kids. It didn't seem nearly as painful then, just sort of nosy. But who hasn't asked a couple when they're going to have kids or when they're going to get married or one of several questions that you probably shouldn't ask, because if you have to ask, they most likely have a reason for not telling you. We've all done it and we've all been asked these questions. I digress.
My point in that now, with us being married a whole 4 years and all, and with both of us rapidly approaching our *gasp* mid-thirties, people have stopped asking and started sort of dancing around the subject. Comments like "when you have kids..." and "pretty soon you'll know what we're talking about" are pretty common.
And what do you say? Do you stop the entire conversation and explain that you may never have children? Do you say why? Do you then list out all the reasons you've come up with why it might be nice to not have kids? (You get to sleep in on weekends, you don't ever have to deal with a screaming child that you can't hand back to his/her parent, etc.) Or do you just sit uncomfortably and nod and smile and hope the subject passes reasonably quickly?
We chose the last option last night at a gathering we attended. There were several of us having dinner, talking, laughing, and generally having a good, kid-free time. (Everyone at the table but us has multiple children; they were not in attendance last evening.) They were talking about kids and telling funny stories, and it was entertaining and I was not thinking about not having children at all until "the comment" came. "You'll see when you guys have kids."
When put in this situation, what in the world are we supposed to say? Should we try to explain what is really happening in our lives, something that is deeply personal and hard for us to talk about with even each other? We do talk about it, but it is not fun and it is not easy and it is honestly pretty crappy. So do we bring that crappiness to the party, in this case literally? I think not. No, we nod and smile and pray to ourselves that the topic changes quickly, that people jump back to talking about themselves. It usually does, but a part of me stops. From the point that it comes up, a part of me remains with that frozen smile on my face, fearing that someone will see that something is wrong and at the same time almost hoping they will. Because at least then I could talk about it. I could stop trying to hide it, to smile over it like it is a shameful secret.
More than anything I wish people wouldn't have to hint or ask or assume, that they would just accept us as the people we are. And the people we are would like you to know that if we want to talk about it, we will bring it up. And that if you want to know something, you should ask, not hint. Hinting is rude. And if you ask, be okay with the answer, even if that means a crying girl at a table in the middle of a dinner party. Then give her a hug.
"When you have kids, you'll understand..."
I'm 34. My husband is 33. By pretty much everyone's standards (most everyone we come into contact with, at least,) we should have children or be on the verge of having children. Heck, by our standards we should be having children or be on the verge of having children. All of our friends are, by the bushel full, it seems.
It follows, then, that people would be curious about our child-free status. When we first got married, people would pretty much just ask when we were going to have kids. It didn't seem nearly as painful then, just sort of nosy. But who hasn't asked a couple when they're going to have kids or when they're going to get married or one of several questions that you probably shouldn't ask, because if you have to ask, they most likely have a reason for not telling you. We've all done it and we've all been asked these questions. I digress.
My point in that now, with us being married a whole 4 years and all, and with both of us rapidly approaching our *gasp* mid-thirties, people have stopped asking and started sort of dancing around the subject. Comments like "when you have kids..." and "pretty soon you'll know what we're talking about" are pretty common.
And what do you say? Do you stop the entire conversation and explain that you may never have children? Do you say why? Do you then list out all the reasons you've come up with why it might be nice to not have kids? (You get to sleep in on weekends, you don't ever have to deal with a screaming child that you can't hand back to his/her parent, etc.) Or do you just sit uncomfortably and nod and smile and hope the subject passes reasonably quickly?
We chose the last option last night at a gathering we attended. There were several of us having dinner, talking, laughing, and generally having a good, kid-free time. (Everyone at the table but us has multiple children; they were not in attendance last evening.) They were talking about kids and telling funny stories, and it was entertaining and I was not thinking about not having children at all until "the comment" came. "You'll see when you guys have kids."
When put in this situation, what in the world are we supposed to say? Should we try to explain what is really happening in our lives, something that is deeply personal and hard for us to talk about with even each other? We do talk about it, but it is not fun and it is not easy and it is honestly pretty crappy. So do we bring that crappiness to the party, in this case literally? I think not. No, we nod and smile and pray to ourselves that the topic changes quickly, that people jump back to talking about themselves. It usually does, but a part of me stops. From the point that it comes up, a part of me remains with that frozen smile on my face, fearing that someone will see that something is wrong and at the same time almost hoping they will. Because at least then I could talk about it. I could stop trying to hide it, to smile over it like it is a shameful secret.
More than anything I wish people wouldn't have to hint or ask or assume, that they would just accept us as the people we are. And the people we are would like you to know that if we want to talk about it, we will bring it up. And that if you want to know something, you should ask, not hint. Hinting is rude. And if you ask, be okay with the answer, even if that means a crying girl at a table in the middle of a dinner party. Then give her a hug.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The First
I have been considering starting this blog for a while. Felt compelled, even, but something always stops me. Actually, I think it's probably many somethings: fear of being judged, fear of being called names or worse, fear of not being real, fear of hurting someone inadvertently. Perhaps it is one thing stopping me: FEAR. And still I feel compelled. Maybe the compulsion is just to get my thoughts and feelings out, to put them somewhere other than deep in my gut, which can't take much more. But then, why not just journal? Thoughts onto paper from a pen still get out. I think there is something deeper. I don't want to feel so alone in this. I want SOMEONE to identify with what I am thinking, with what I am feeling, and with what I am saying. I want someone to understand. And maybe I can understand for someone else. If there is anyone out there who feels as isolated and helpless in this, then perhaps I can encourage that person while being encouraged myself.
I am a thirty-something married woman without a baby. Without any children, for that matter. My husband and I have been married for over 4 years and stopped using any sort of birth control about a year into our married life. No baby. Never even a hint of a baby, other than the occasional half-second late period that was less of a hint and more of a punch in the face when the period actually came. I think I will go more into our "story" later on, but you get the gist - no baby.
Tonight I was perusing Facebook - which I do entirely too often - and yet another friend announced her pregnancy. Click on "2 New Posts" and WHAM! picture of a sonogram with a caption about welcoming the newest member of the family. To me, Facebook is supposed to be a mindless distraction and a nice way to keep up with friends who I may or may not ever see in-person again. I am discovering, however, that for a baby-less person who wants a baby, Facebook is a minefield. "Oh," you think, "let's see who is frustrated with their job or who posted a funny graphic or whose child just got potty-trained." And then there's yet another post about someone having a baby. And it's only the beginning. Because after the announcement of the pregnancy comes updates about the baby growing and baby showers and doctor's appointments and kicks and things you may never get to experience, things that you are losing hope of ever having.
When I read these things, I AM happy. I am happy that there is new life, happy that people are blessed with babies and children and LIFE. But I cannot stop the sad, or the tears, or the anger. WHY CAN'T IT BE ME? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
There is no answer, you know. I don't know why it can't be me. I may never know. And I didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes life is harsh. Sometimes it's not how we imagined it. And sometimes we're confronted with the idea that Someone knows better than we do. It's there, staring me in the face. Do I believe it? I hope I do. I think I do. But I am fickle, and doubt creeps in again and again.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life." - Proverbs 13:12
I am a thirty-something married woman without a baby. Without any children, for that matter. My husband and I have been married for over 4 years and stopped using any sort of birth control about a year into our married life. No baby. Never even a hint of a baby, other than the occasional half-second late period that was less of a hint and more of a punch in the face when the period actually came. I think I will go more into our "story" later on, but you get the gist - no baby.
Tonight I was perusing Facebook - which I do entirely too often - and yet another friend announced her pregnancy. Click on "2 New Posts" and WHAM! picture of a sonogram with a caption about welcoming the newest member of the family. To me, Facebook is supposed to be a mindless distraction and a nice way to keep up with friends who I may or may not ever see in-person again. I am discovering, however, that for a baby-less person who wants a baby, Facebook is a minefield. "Oh," you think, "let's see who is frustrated with their job or who posted a funny graphic or whose child just got potty-trained." And then there's yet another post about someone having a baby. And it's only the beginning. Because after the announcement of the pregnancy comes updates about the baby growing and baby showers and doctor's appointments and kicks and things you may never get to experience, things that you are losing hope of ever having.
When I read these things, I AM happy. I am happy that there is new life, happy that people are blessed with babies and children and LIFE. But I cannot stop the sad, or the tears, or the anger. WHY CAN'T IT BE ME? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
There is no answer, you know. I don't know why it can't be me. I may never know. And I didn't do anything wrong. Sometimes life is harsh. Sometimes it's not how we imagined it. And sometimes we're confronted with the idea that Someone knows better than we do. It's there, staring me in the face. Do I believe it? I hope I do. I think I do. But I am fickle, and doubt creeps in again and again.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is the tree of life." - Proverbs 13:12
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