We pulled to the side of the road; I was nauseous again. That is what happens when you have a life growing inside of you. When the car stopped; I opened the door and leaned out. Just as swiftly as it came the nausea passed and I look down at the green grass of spring before me. There nestled in the soft grass was a wooden baby in a papoose. Relief and peace spread through me the moment I saw it. As I reached out to retrieve it I had no doubts it was a sign, the sign I needed.
I was young and in a relationship which clearly wasn’t going to endure. At first I was hopefully that we would work out and that this baby I was carrying was the going to usher us into adulthood and inspire us to be better people.For me it did. The moment the test stick formed a heart; I had given mine and a vow to the baby growing inside me. I am committed to you.
The day my cousin and I pulled to the side of the road was the day I realized that I would be raising this child alone and it was in fact just a matter of time before the relationship ended. At the time the wooden baby in a papoose was a sign to me that my baby and I were going to be okay and that everything would work out, and it did. The road wasn’t an easy one but there were many happy times and all the struggles made us stronger.
As I write this nineteen year later the unborn baby is now an amazing young woman and If I were to describe my life now and all its blessing to the my younger soon to be mother self it would be hard for to her to image it. The wooden baby in the grass gave her hope for a better life and the strength to work for it and for that I am ever grateful.