It's Your Story. You Should Tell it.

If you've been reading around here for any bit of time, you know that this year, I got pregnant, and it was a surprise.

I love writing-it's such a big part of my life-so of course I wanted to write about how everything was changing. I didn't want to write about weight gain and cravings, I wanted to write about how this surprise was changing my life, how I was processing everything, what the ups and downs were...I wanted to write the real stuff.

And you know what? I felt incredibly guilty. And very, very timid.

Who was I to write about how the idea that I was going to be a mom was taking some getting used to when there are women out there who have been trying for years to become a mom? Who was I to be honest about my first reaction being one other than pure joy when there are people in this world who would do anything to be able to be in my position?

The first few things I wrote about being pregnant (and even the first few discussions I had!), I felt like I had to filter them through a certain light. I couldn't be too real, not when other people had so much bigger stories to share than mine.

But here's the truth: The second that plus sign showed up on the test, it became part of my story.

I had not planned on having a baby, but I was having one nonetheless, and it was hard to process. That became part of my story.

It took me awhile to feel anything other than scared. It took a bit before I was truly excited to have a growing family. That became part of my story.

I'm now almost 35 weeks pregnant, sitting with a mug of peppermint mocha coffee balancing on my stomach, watching it move up and down as he tumbles all around in there, and having a hard time imagining life having gone any other way. I'm so in love with this little guy, still terrified of the unknown, but mostly just so excited to meet him. That's part of my story.

And yes, other people have stories that seem bigger to me. Stories that seem better, that seem worse. But those are their stories.

I believe everyone should tell their story, because it's theirs. I'm going to write about and talk about my story, because it's mine. And I hope you do the same.

Just because there are people who have it better than you, people who have it worse than you, doesn't mean your story isn't worth telling. It is. Because it's yours. You should tell it.