Telling my parents I was pregnant resulted in blank stares, an Oscar-worthy fallout, and actually pulling my Daddy-O's attention from March Madness. Ah, memories...
I want to make one thing clear, straight out the gate- when I say I was a firm child-freeist, I mean it. I was unashamed. Unbowed. My parents- who had evolved from "please don't come home pregnant" in my teen years to "please give us grandkids, all our friends have them" after I got married (I later divorced)- had finally (with great reservation), acquiesced to the fact that grandparent-dom was likely forever out of their reach (I'm an only child).
So when I realized that I was pregnant, and- after a grueling internal thought process and conversation with my amazing partner, decided to proceed with said pregnancy- I knew that my parents had to be the first to know.
After warning my partner that my Mamaloo would likely flip- but the shock would likely lean positive- we headed to my parent's home, armed with a cheeky announcement card and the surprise of all surprises.
I was fully prepared to try and secretly record the entire scene, but Mamaloo happened to be sick (and dragged herself out of bed in a housecoat and head scarf to receive us- suffice it to say, she wasn't camera ready), and my Daddy-O was preoccupied with March Madness (so we only had his partial attention).
I lured them into the living room, handed over the envelope to Mamaloo, and waited.
Now, my Mamaloo is a speed reader, so once she opened the card, I expected an immediate reaction. I didn't get one. She paused for what seemed like an eternity...stared at me blankly...and then proceeded to do a full on, tear-induced fall out.
She couldn't even hand the card to my Daddy-O (who was still stuck to the screen, mind you), so I took it from her and handed it to him. He read it and cracked up...which is exactly what I expected.
**I later found out that my dad had actually had a dream I was pregnant several nights before, so it was more a "fulfillment of prophecy" laugh than a "I can't believe my child waited until her mid-30s to get knocked up" laugh, as I initially assumed.**
Meanwhile, Mamaloo had wrapped herself around my partner's neck, and was sobbing uncontrollably into his shirt.
He was taking it all in stride, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was getting a little concerned about what he had gotten himself into. A mom snotting and blubbering on his neck? A dad cackling maniacally while somehow keeping one eye on the game? Questionable, to say the least.
Hugs were spread all around. A million questions were spontaneously speared at us:
"Really?!?"
"Are you serious?!?"
"How far along are you?"
"How do you feel?"
And thus, my parents- long denied access to an experience they never thought they'd partake of- entered into a new reality...grandparenthood.
My parents and their long-awaited grandbaby.
So what's your story? How did you tell your parents- or whoever the most important people in your life- that you were pregnant? What was their reaction?