Unexpected Pregnancy-Unexpected Blessing

This is a guest post by Danielle Miller.

It’s hard to describe how I felt as I saw my grandson being born on March 16, 2012. In fact, I can’t articulate it; other than to say that I was completely and utterly unprepared for flood of emotions as I held him minutes after he arrived on this earth.

Gone was the worry and frustration over the last 7 months as I worked through the reality of my unmarried daughter’s unexpected pregnancy and having to live with us for a while.

Gone was the stress and anxiety of figuring out what this all meant for my relationship with one of my dearest friends.

There was only the total unmitigated joy at seeing that beautiful and already beloved face…and absolute delight that Jaxson decided to arrive on my youngest son’s birthday (who was at the very moment getting ready to run the Crucible in Marine Corps boot camp).

On as hot, steamy night in late August 2011 as I was sitting in my family room reading, my 20 (almost 21) year old single daughter flopped into the recliner and said, “I need to talk to you”.

Even before the words came out of her mouth I knew what she going to say…funny thing about a mom’s intuition eh? The hot, steamy night had nothing on me when she followed up with “I’m pregnant”.

This was not the scenario I had envisioned when I thought about being a grandparent ‘someday’. This was not celebrating 2 people being in love, getting married, and building a life together. This was 2 kids who were about to have a kid themselves.

To complicate matters, the baby’s father was my best friend’s son, in his first year of college. In an ironic twist that I’m sure God continues to get a chuckle out of, I can remember sitting on the couch with my BFF many years ago and her saying to me, “Wouldn’t it be funny if our kids got married and had kids someday? How cool would it be to be grandparents together?” (Our kids were about 11 and 12 at the time).

Ask and you shall receive. We were about to find out exactly how ‘funny’ and cool this would be.

There is no rulebook or guide on how to navigate your daughter’s unexpected pregnancy. There is no timeline on how or when you will get over being disappointed that your dreams for your children are not coming to fruition and to get to a place of acceptance and grace of a situation that you have no control over.

In some ways we were all very fortunate. We all made the conscious choice to make this the best possible situation…because it was what it was; this new person was coming into our lives. My BFF and I made a pact that despite whatever happened, we would work to maintain and preserve our friendship because it was important to both of us.

In a few weeks we will celebrate Jaxson’s 3rd birthday. He is an exquisitely bright light in our lives and we are all completely gaga over him. He is a gift and blessing that we treasure each and every day. Our children have weathered some challenges and are getting married in October 2015. And we all firmly believe that everything works out the way it is supposed to in this crazy life.

Danielle M. Miller is a brand stylist and strategist who works with women entrepreneurs and solopreneurs to help them craft a brand that gets them recognized and remembered. She writes, speaks, and teaches about the undeniable power of branding in the digital age. She has shared the stage with brilliant women such as Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, and Sara Blakely, and has been featured in FitSugar, Lip Gloss Culture, and The Entrepreneur Gazette, as well as numerous radio and podcast interviews. You can find her at www.daniellemmiller.com