I don't know that I can tell you exactly how it got to this point, but I can tell you that I like where it's going. And even though I don't know all the changes that are in store for myself and my family, I have an image in mind of what the future holds...and I can't wait to get there. But I'm getting ahead of myself...let's try and start from the beginning.
Where did it all start?...that's a big question I'm still trying to answer for myself. I think the first major life-decision that set me on this path was my divorce from my first wife. I had been in that relationship for about 10 years...but towards the end of those years, I couldn't help but keep thinking that I was doing something wrong. My relationship didn't feel right...it felt like all the major decisions I had made in regards to that relationship were because they were what I was "supposed to be doing". The idea of dating, love, house, marriage, kids...all of it was already planned out for me...the ideas were not mine. And so, even though I was in a comfortable relationship with two boys that we had recently adopted...and even though I probably burdened myself with a ton of guilt, I decided to call it quits and move on. I took my first major leap of faith. Was it scary?...yes. Did it feel like the right thing to do?...absolutely.
And then there was Barbara. We had met at work...the attraction was instantaneous. Asking her out on a date was one of the best decisions I've ever made...and although I had no idea that it would have led me to where I am now, I had no doubt it was the right decision to make at that point in my life. She was a little cautious of my recent past...but for some reason, she decided to take a chance on me. We had a lot of fun in those first years...and although we hadn't been dating for long, after two years I asked her to marry me...and before the next year was over, we had whisked ourselves away to Hawaii to get married in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. And although the overall game plan wasn't much difference from my first marriage...the big difference was that I didn't feel like I was doing it all because it was what I was supposed to do...I truly felt that this time I was doing what I wanted to do with the person I was meant to do it with.
But what little did I know, even at that point, was that Barbara would play an even bigger role in the recent changes in my life and that those changes will no doubt affect me forever. It all started with a simple thought...a simple thought about a much bigger picture. We had been married...we were having the time of our lives together...and as most couples do at some point during their relationship, we started discussing having children. The simple idea was that we wanted to try and do whatever we needed to do to give our kids the best in everything. I know...that's not so unusual, right?...isn't that what everyone wants to do for their kids? However, as most parents quickly realize, we figured out that this one thought would start affecting our lives in ways we never realized.
The first thing to change was our eating habits. We knew that with Barbara having a baby growing in her tummy who was absorbing everything that she took in to her body, that food would be the first major thing that we would need to change. We mostly looked into eating organic foods and trying to remove anything "unnatural" in our diets, like processed chemicals or drugs like caffeine. We figured the more things like that that we could limit going into their bodies, the better.
If we were going to try and remove most drugs from our systems, it only made sense to us to try and remove any drugs during the birth of our children as well. This led to our desire to have a natural, drug-free childbirth experience. We had already been doing research on different child-birthing methods, and we had found several books that discussed the benefits of different potential methods out there...but it was when Barbara signed us up for a Bradley Method birthing class taught by Melissa Cameron Morrill that we really started rethinking how we were living our lives.
To be continued...
