Yep. I couldn't wait any longer. Of course, there's a bit of backstory to this.
We were planning on telling next weekend. We were going to Skype my mom in the morning, then have my dad and stepmom and Brian's parents come over in the afternoon/evening for a BBQ. I had these super cute cards: one said Grandmothers and one said Grandfathers with a cute saying--they looked almost hand made. Then I was going to put a copy of our ten week ultrasound in it with a note saying delivery due February 1st! I had it all planned out. Then...tragedy struck.
Brian's grandfather "Pop Pop" passed away last week. It was, for us, very unexpected. He'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's a few years back and he and Gramma Lou had moved from their home in Truckee down to Victorville to be nearer Brian's aunts and cousins. All of Brians aunts, uncles and cousins--not to mention his grandparents' relatives and friends--converged on Victorville this weekend for the funeral and celebration of life reception to celebrate Pop Pop.
Brian and I talked a lot about sharing the news this weekend on the 7 hour drive down. Is this the right time? Would it be appropriate? We didn't want to take away from the celebration of Pop Pop's life, but when else were we going to have an opportunity when all of his family would be together? We decided to wait and see what the feeling was.
The funeral was beautiful and sad--my first Catholic mass. Brian's dad Jeff gave a moving speech, as a he usually does (Jeff is an amazing speaker). By the end, there was not a dry eye in the church. Mine certainly weren't.
After the ceremony, we converged on Gramma Lou and Pop Pop's home--the first time we had been to their house in Victorville. At one point, we had Brian, his parents Barbara and Jeff, his sisters Mel and Stephanie and Gramma Lou sitting together in the living room. We had been reminiscing about Pop Pop, talking about Mel and Travis' upcoming wedding, our good friend Sandi's new baby and babies in general. The vibe seemed perfect. I pulled out the "Grandfather" card and handed it to Jeff and Barbara.
Of course they had to sit there and guess why I had given him a card, as it wasn't anyone's birthday or holiday. Mel was grinning and saying that she thought she knew what the card was about. I'm pretty sure at one point, I said "just open it!" I think they got as far as seeing the word "grandfather" on the front, looked inside, saw the words "coming soon" and they were jumping up and down and laughing. Once hugs were given all around, they read the card again, saw the February 1st due date--which is actually rather close to Pop Pop's birthday. Barbara ran into the other room to share the news then rushed back to hear more details. It definitely seemed to raise some spirits!
The first thing I told everyone is "Nothing on Facebook! I haven't told my parents yet!" The next morning, I called my dad early--I knew he'd be up! I told him about Pop Pop and the funeral and shared the big news with him. He was saddened to hear about Pop Pop's passing, but was excited about the baby. Then I called mom. Having known about the past two miscarriages, she was cautiously optimistic, especially after I told her how far along we are and the steps the doctor is taking to make sure this pregnancy has the best possible chance of succeeding.
So the news is out! I'm waiting to post on Facebook until I call my grandma and Brian's aunt and uncle. Brian and I are back home from Victorville. It was a long, exciting, sad and emotional weekend and we are happy to be home with our puppies!
