I grew up in Madera, a town with one of the highest rates for teen pregnancies, and in a culture that put pressure on people to have children at a young age.
My mom was 17 when I was born, and her experience as a teen parent was a strong lesson for me to not do the same. It also helped that there weren’t many cute/smart guys around.
Some of my friends, all with similar backgrounds, were having children in their teens and early 20s. But I put my nose in the books and kept it there.
I had other things on my mind. I wanted to work hard, go to college, see the world, meet new people. I did.
Then, a few years ago, I met and married my soulmate. Both of us came from large families, and we knew we definitely wanted children. We just wanted to enjoy each other a bit before adding more to the mix.
Oh, man, was there pressure from all sides of our families. I was 30 and felt like I had plenty of time. But I worried when we decided to have a baby and it didn’t happen right away. We tried for what seemed like forever. Then, voila! One fresh baby coming right up. It was an amazing experience and I enjoyed everything about my pregnancy.
A few of my former schoolmates made neener neener comments about starting late blah blah and how they were almost done raising their kids.
I didn’t care. Everything came in time, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I think sometimes you have to go through different experiences so you have something to share with others. I now have a beautiful baby girl to adore. So, maybe I won’t be hittin’ the clubs when she is finally out on her own. I’m still a spring chicken on many levels, and I have other lessons and wild tales to share with my cute little monster. I’m ready to enjoy every minute of it.
