Trying to Be a Hopeful Parent
Here's my monthly contribution to Hopeful Parents . I entered into this parent thing with no real preconceived notions or expectations. When I was a teenager, I babysat the neighbors kids every once in a while, but I never really had an experience with infants and children younger than 6 or 7. I was one of the first of my group of friends to have a child, so I didn't get to hang around many Moms and their sons and daughters. I was not one to plot out my future, so I never had a master plan how many children I wanted or what age I would conceive. Having a child is something that my ex-husband and I decided we wanted, and I got pregnant on the first try. So after we made this decision, it happened very easily and very quickly. Having Jacob is something I've never regretted. He'll be 18 this September, so he'll be a legal adult with all the rights and responsibilities that go along with it, and, oh boy, is that a scary thought. He's not graduating from