Love Challenge - Day 1

I'm going to go down the expected route with this blog entry. My first love topic? My oldest child, Austin. He was the very first person in my life who captured my whole heart. He's the one who taught me how to be a mother, one of my proudest accomplishments. He has had such a huge impact on the kind of person that I've become.

Before Austin arrived in my life, I was your typical young adult. I was in my sophomore year of college, not really having much of a direction with my life (after being told by my Chem prof the previous year that I'd never make it as a dr, but I've already posted about that!). I had decided that I was going to drop out of college and get a job as a nanny. I can't even believe that is something I even considered! I would have been miserable I can tell you that much. I've done in-home daycare off and on for the past 5 years and I hate it. But anyway back to sophomore year. Like I said, I didn't have much focus or direction. I was just kind of walking through life. I was a good student and wasn't much into the party scene. I had had my partying days during freshman year. However in February of 1996 I was persuaded by several friends to attend a fraternity party. There was lots of alcohol involved, and I ran into one of the brothers who was in my sociology class. You can put two and two together.

Two weeks later I found out that I was pregnant. Oh my God! How could that happen to me? ME? I wasn't that type of girl. I wasn't one to just have one-night stands. I had been a virgin up til the year before. I was a good girl. And there I was, 19 and pregnant to a guy I didn't know and who wanted nothing to do with me or our child. He tried to talk me into having an abortion or giving the child up for adoption. He told me that it was irresponsible to keep the baby and that if I did I would be ruining three lives -- his, mine, and our child's. I told him that WE had been irresponsible when we slept together and that the only way to learn from our mistake was to take responsibility for our actions. Getting rid of the pregnancy wouldn't teach us anything. That would be irresponsible.

And so the journey of single-parenthood began for me. I had a purpose. I had a focus. I had a drive and a determination. My parents allowed me to move back home at the end of that semester under the condition that I would go to the local university full-time and work 24 hrs a week during the school year. I fell madly in love with Austin before he was ever born. He was all I thought about. He was the reason I did everything I did. He came first in my life.

Austin and I didn't have it easy. I worked really hard for everything that we had and did. I gave him everything that I could and went without so that he didn't. He made sacrifices easy. He made everything worthwhile. And fortunately, when he was only two, I found the love of my life, Jason, who would accept Austin as his own son. We are so very blessed.

He's a great kid. He just turned 12 in October and its hard to believe that I am the mother of sixth grader. He's an excellent student. Gets all A's and B's. Has been in advanced math for several years. He's athletic, funny, caring, sweet, ambitious, determined, strong-willed, and loving. The middle school girls all swoon over him and his friends' parents think he's wonderful and always well-mannered. But Austin isn't perfect by any means. I'm not blinded by my love for him. He gives me attitude and back-talk. He instigates fights with his sister and just down-right lazy when it comes to chores. He's moody and rolls his eyes at me and Jason. But overall he's just a wonderful kid and I look forward to continuing to guide him on his path through life and help mold him into the man he is to become.

I'm privileged to be his mother and I don't take that responsibility lightly. He is one of my greatest accomplishments and he taught me first how to unconditionally love another human being.

Love you Squirrel!!! *SMOOCH* (now stop rolling your eyes at your mother and go load the dishwasher!)