Getting to Parenthood

There was never any question of whether or not S and I would have children.The real question was, once we began seriously dating, would I be able to reach the same point? Kids had never been a given for me.

Lots of things like traveling, going to see live shows and *gasp* spending my money on things for me all sounded way better then being a parent. Plus, there's all that pesky baggage that comes along with growing up queer in a less then hospitable small town environment.

So how in the world did I end up here?

My next few posts will be all about getting to parenthood. But there's got to be a first step somewhere.

Looking back, it took several iterations of life for me to reach parenthood. It's not a straight path but instead a series of seemingly unconnected events that, upon further investigation, are found to be utterly necessary for you to have progressed from point A to point B.

At first, I thought it all started sometime shortly after beginning with S, but contrary to my own popular belief, the first event which could possibly signify my own wants changing gears occurred several years earlier.

When I left for college, my grandparents purchased me a car. A Pontiac Sunfire which, as I got older I fondly referred to as the death trap (it's true check out their safety ratings). After a few years, I found myself in the position of being able to purchase a new vehicle and I seized the opportunity with gusto.

Such choices! I didn't have an extraordinary budget but I did have enough to spend a solid 6 months looking at different options. What did 22 year old just about to graduate from college me choose? A fun SUV? A V6 2 door convertible? Or even just a sporty 2 door coupe?

Nope. I picked a used 4 door sedan. The quintessential boring but practical choice. A top of the line V6 Honda Accord with one previous owner who filled out the maintenance records in the manual. (Thanks for writing down the stereo code Bob!).

It had tons of space for schlepping....well only myself around, leather seats for any messes my friends made in the back, extremely high safety ratings and it could feasible last me a decade and still look good. And the stereo system was awesome.

It was my first "adult" decision, even though it was book-ended by a whole host of awful decisions. And in the back of my mind when I made it, I totally thought "huh, this thing has hooks to put in a car seat. that might be convenient later".

I still have it. It's great for schlepping the family around, I don't worry about anything spilling, I've paid it off and have only done minor maintenance. It still looks good and it's perfect for where I'm at now in life. Imagine that.