Telling

This weekend, I got to tell my parents something that I've imagined telling them for a long time--that they will be grandparents.

I got to the hotel on Friday about an hour before my mom did-- I got so nervous as I was waiting for her to arrive. We got checked in and brought all of our stuff to our room and my mom was trying to rush out the door so that we could grab some lunch. I tried to stall her-- I had waited a MONTH to tell her and I couldn't wait any longer.

So, before she could put on her coat, I said, "Hey, I brought you something that you've been asking for, for a long time." As she opened the box, she squealed, "Wedding Pictures, Yay!!" and she started jumping up and down. She slowly started looking at each of the pages-- my heart was pounding. She turned to the final page-- her face froze. She looked kind of confused for a few seconds, then she gasped and looked at me.

"You're pregnant??!!"

When I said yes, she immediately ran over to hug me and started crying. It was such a great moment. I asked her if she had any clue and she said no-- she said that she had noticed that I had stopped taking about TTC lately, but she just worried that I was getting depressed about not getting pregnant. We spent the rest of the weekend talking about all things baby related. She's dying to start baby shopping, but she wants to know if it's a boy or girl first. (She was so disappointed to hear that it will be 10 weeks or so before we find out. She wants to know NOW.)

We decided that I would follow my mom back to Columbia to my parents' house so that I could tell my dad in person. (He didn't know I was coming.) So, as we walked in the house, my mom said, "I brought you something from Greenville." My dad said, "What?" and as he rounded the corner he saw me standing there. He was surprised and excited to see me.

Once we got settled, my mom said, "Look what Stef made us! We finally got wedding pictures!!" She sat him down at the table to look at the book. We were both watching him like hawks as he turned every page. FINALLY, he got to the last page. He immediately looked up at me-- I nodded and smiled. He immediately put his head in his hands and started sobbing. It was the sweetest thing-- my dad is one of the most sensitive and sentimental people I've ever known. He was overjoyed at the news-- so much that he was speechless. My mom told me that he just said to her the other day, "I'm ready to be a granddad." Little did he know that he already was!

My parents put their house on the market last August, planning to move to Birmingham. While we're disappointed that they're not here yet, there really hasn't been much urgency...until now. As soon as I told my dad the news, he was on the phone with the realtor to find out what they can do to increase their chances of selling it--they're lowering the price today & coming to Birmingham this weekend to look at houses. (They've come househunting several other times, but are now feeling the pressure to make sure that they know what house they are ready to make an offer on, should theirs sell quickly.)

All in all, it was a great weekend. My mom and I had fun in Greenville, despite a rainy and cold weekend. Wicked was fantastic-- I can't wait to see it again! And my parents are beside themselves, they are so excited. It's a really good feeling.