Unpopular

Unpopular in thought. Every time an expectant Mother posts on the forums asking for advice on whether to parent or place, I say a prayer that she parents. I give the advice she’s seeking, because I remember how hard it was to try to research things and have no one willing (or able) to help. I’m honest in my responses. I say that adoption hurts but, yes, it can work. It’s just hard. Very.

Needless to say, I jump up and down in my seat when a woman decides to parent her child. No, it’s also not an easy road. Most of the time, these women are looking at single parenthood. Being a parent now, I can see how hard it would be to raise a child completely by yourself. That said, I commend and applaud every single parent. Ever.

Recently, an online friend of mine asked why a co-worker would email her, exclaiming joy that his unwed, young daughter was pregnant. A few friends responded that he’s probably trying to be optimistic because, heck, there’s nothing he can do about it now. True. So true. I wish every parent whose child came upon an unplanned pregnancy would realize that fact: what’s done is done. In the words of my (soldier) Husband, “Drink water, drive on.”

My reply went something of the sort:

Better that he try to act supportive than to pressure her into placing or an abortion if that isn’t what she desires to do. Parental support is often hard to come by when it comes to young, unplanned pregnancy.

I give him props.

And it’s true. Two other people agreed with my thread, also stating that, maybe he didn’t want the “I’m so sorry,” sympathy comments. Another brought up the point of, hey, who are others to judge them anyway?

Unplanned pregnancies happen. Hell, folks, I’m the result of an unplanned pregnancy as was my brother. Granted, my parents were married when my brother implanted himself in my Mother’s uterus, but unplanned all the same. Part of me is still dealing with some residual anger in the fact that I wasn’t offered support but, we tried the best we knew how. Really.

In short: to any woman experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, I say, “YOU GO, MAMA! Don’t let ANYONE tell you that you won’t be a GREAT Mom. You can do WHATEVER you put your mind to… ANYTHING.”

This post brought to you by the sheer joy and excitement of someone on the forums posting that she has decided to parent her child. I want to turn a cartwheel. I want to say, “YOU GO, MAMA!”