I grew up in a home where my dad traveled ALL the time for work. It was part of his job and I didn’t really think that much of it at the time but as I grew older I knew I didn’t want my husband to travel as much as my dad did!
Zach is a wonderful man and totally agrees with me in this area…luckily Aflac is the kind of company where not much work travel is involved. However, some groups are spread out and he does have to do some traveling to be able to work them all. The entire month of November is a travel month!
He went for 3 nights to Savannah and I couldn’t deal with it. I never slept, felt so lonely, and then took it out on him when he got home. It wasn’t fair to him or to our marriage. So we had a big talk about it and decided that since I’m not working anyway that I’d go with him!
After my dr. appointment last Tuesday morning I headed out to drive to Kennesaw. Zach was working groups in the Atlanta area and decided to stay with his sister, Casey, for free rather than have to get a hotel room everynight! The drive wore me out more than I expected but it was totally worth going! Being with Zach every night is very important to me. It was worth a 4 hour drive to share a bed with him each night!
I stayed up there both Tues and Wed nights and was going to go to Lawrenceville to try to see some friends. Then I realized Lawrenceville was an extra hour drive and I seriously didn’t have it in me to do it so I explored the Kennesaw Mall instead. I had a nice day all by myself shopping 🙂
While shopping I talked to like a million strangers…I made friends with some guy at PacSun and helped him pick out a gift for his girlfriend (and got told that I’m a sexy pregnant woman by him!), helped some ladies at Belk pick out maternity clothes for a friend, and even got handed an application and offered a job at Express for helping a customer make an outfit (I got him to be “adventurous” and try a pale pink shirt with his sweater vest).
The most touching person I met, however, was a girl at a shoe store. I was looking at some brown flat shoes. She was trying on the same ones and asked my opinion if they were dressy enough for work or not. I told her that I’m pregnant and have to wear flats so I was planning on wearing them to church and that church clothes can be work clothes so I thought they worked fine! She said she was pregnant too! I told her congrats and she said “oh no, don’t say that.”
Then she totally opened up and obviously she just felt the need to get it off her chest and didn’t have anyone to tell. She’s 18 and had just found out she’s 2 months pregnant 4 days before our meeting. She told the guy (not her boyfriend…and he’s 26) and he told her he’d support her by paying for the abortion. She said she won’t do it (thank God) and is going to keep the baby no matter what. She had yet to even tell her parents and they’ve never met the guy either.
My heart reached out to her. Can you imagine being in her position? I told her she’s doing the right thing and that aborting that baby would be something she’d always regret. I said that her parents will support her. She said she knows they will but that she hates to disappoint them, which I followed by saying that she’s being so strong to keep that baby that they will be proud of her for that decision, not disappointed!
When I got in line behind her I kept thinking about her and her situation over and over and over. I felt pretty lame but I asked her for her name (Megan) and told her I’d keep her in my prayers. I don’t know why it made me feel lame saying that but I guess I think of that as an old church lady thing to do haha (Zach and Casey both called me Charlotte when I told them!). But I really left that store and walked through the mall praying for her and that He will bless her, her baby, and her pregnancy for her making the right choice when so many people make the wrong one. I’m keeping her in my prayers and hope maybe some of you will add her to yours!
It just reminds me how even though my life is perfect that I am so blessed. I have such a supporting husband (I mean how many guys would be okay with me spending the money on gas and paying someone to watch the dogs so I could be with him for two weeknights?) who loves me no matter what (even when I go crazy on him for just doing his job!!!) and who is SO SO excited to be a father to our child!
