How I Told Ryan

We all love stories. We're built for them. It's why we love ballads and movies and books and even gossip; why God revealed Himself in narrative rather than pithy sayings or truisms. I've found that everyone wants to know (well, everyone FEMALE anyway) how you told your husband you were pregnant. I guess it's kind of like your "how-you-met story," or your "proposal story." Maybe in a past age that was considered taboo, I don't know, but my guess is that in a further past age it wasn't. So here's how I told Ryan... don't worry-- I tried to make it interesting. ;)

I found out via pregnancy test early one January morning-- I'd suspected but hadn't told Ryan because I didn't want to get his hopes up. I had called my Mom the day before because I had to tell SOMEONE!! That night around midnight (it was a verrrry long day), I gave Ryan a back-to-school gift, as he was starting seminary the next day. First there was a card full of double meanings (like quoting Ps 139), and the lines started with the letters D-A-D-D-Y. The p.s. said "I know you don't like nicknames, but I think this one will stick:_ _ _ _ _. Fill in the blanks using the first letter of each line." Though he figured that out, he TOTALLY didn't get it... he just thought I was affirming him as the kind of wonderful man who would make a great father "some day."

Then he opened the proper gift, and pulled out a tiny t-shirt I'd painted to say "My Daddy goes to Southern" with the Southern Seminary seal on it. Still... he didn't get it. Thankfully, I'd put in the actual pregnancy test, and as he pulled THAT out and things started slowly clicking. By this point I was a little concerned, thinking that his lack of response was a sign of displeasure.
"That's a pregnancy test that I took this morning," I said, my heart in my mouth. He stared at it, then asked "how reliable is this thing, anyway-- didn't we get it as a wedding gift like a year and a half ago?" (yes, we did get pregancy tests as a joke wedding gift from some married friends)
"No, honey- I bought that at Kroger yesterday."
"Umm... the horizontal line isn't very dark..."
I reminded him that if it were negative, there would ONLY be a horizontal line (our test shows a + for positive, and a - for a negative).
His classic response, with dawning understanding:
"Oooooh! that's a very dark vertical line!" Then he got all excited and started hugging me and laughing, and we spent the next hour talking, half shaking, about us being parents of a BABY!!!