and I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said with a voice full of regret. “I don’t ever want to lose you. I love you so much, and I love our beautiful daughter too.” “Well, Josh, you’re on thin ice. I am really getting frustrated with your crap, and I don’t know what to do anymore,” I said - trying not to display the ounce of empathy I had left for him.
Out of nowhere, I heard a startling explosion.
Chapter 14
Josh and I simultaneously turned our heads to the corner of the room. Chloe began screaming. I think the explosion startled her too. It was Chloe with a dirty diaper. With no further discussion of Josh being in the doghouse, we knew we must act quickly. Chloe had been so quiet throughout our stay. Suddenly, she was screaming and I didn’t know what to do. She was so incredibly tiny that it was scary changing her diaper. I was scared that any wrong movement would damage her for life. I looked at Josh with total uncertainty. “Josh, just go get the nurse,” I pleaded. Josh’s face formed a crooked grin as if he were truly proud of what his baby girl had just accomplished. “Sweetie, I’ll change her; it’s not a big deal.” he stated.
As confident as ever, he took charge and changed the green mess like he knew exactly what he was doing. Great. How am I supposed to be mad at him now? Our newborn baby would depend completely on us to give her a safe environment to live in, free of alcohol and fighting. However, Josh had done nothing to prove his intentions were to grow up and stop drinking. On the other hand, if Josh and I did not stay together, I would be forced to do most of this teen parenting stuff on my own. I would have to live at my mother’s house until I turned eighteen, and even though things at home were great for the time being, I knew they could quickly change back to catfights and bickering to no end. After a thirty-second battle with my own mind, I decided to stick it out to see if he was capable of growing up. After all, he had just made a small amount of progress.
The clock was nearing noon, and I was ready to spend time at home with my new baby. I was excited when my mother returned from the nurse’s station with the news that I could go home. Josh and my mom helped pack everything up, and Chloe was safely tucked into her car seat and ready to go on her first car ride. I could not believe how tiny she looked in her seat. She was so delicate, and every movement with her was slowly and cautiously carried out. On the way home, my mom stopped by our local grocery store to get dinner and a prescription for me. I thought it would be fun to take my new baby into the store with me and show her off to the envious women who were past their childbearing years.
I thought young mothers were so much better than older mothers. At least we were pretty and still youthful with enough energy to play with our kids. This parenting thing is going to work out just fine, I was thinking to myself as my mom and I were checking out at the store. The Clerk, who had interacted with our family frequently from several years of our local shopping, was looking at me strangely. She looked confused. Finally, after purposely stepping away from the counter to get a good look at my new prize, she said “Oh my! How old is the baby? I was hoping it was one of those fake plastic babies the kids get from school! I’m sad to see that it’s not a school assignment!” This ticked me off, and I felt the blood rushing to my face in anger. I gave her no reply. What would I say anyway? “I’m sorry I had a baby,” or “Yep, my baby is real!” Luckily, my mother did the talking, and I got out of explaining my situation. I was sad after this encounter because I knew that the negative remark would not be the last one I heard.
We pulled into the driveway of our home eager to carry our new family member in and get her acquainted. As I began to climb the stairs, I noticed that there were scattered
Out of nowhere, I heard a startling explosion.
Chapter 14
Josh and I simultaneously turned our heads to the corner of the room. Chloe began screaming. I think the explosion startled her too. It was Chloe with a dirty diaper. With no further discussion of Josh being in the doghouse, we knew we must act quickly. Chloe had been so quiet throughout our stay. Suddenly, she was screaming and I didn’t know what to do. She was so incredibly tiny that it was scary changing her diaper. I was scared that any wrong movement would damage her for life. I looked at Josh with total uncertainty. “Josh, just go get the nurse,” I pleaded. Josh’s face formed a crooked grin as if he were truly proud of what his baby girl had just accomplished. “Sweetie, I’ll change her; it’s not a big deal.” he stated.
As confident as ever, he took charge and changed the green mess like he knew exactly what he was doing. Great. How am I supposed to be mad at him now? Our newborn baby would depend completely on us to give her a safe environment to live in, free of alcohol and fighting. However, Josh had done nothing to prove his intentions were to grow up and stop drinking. On the other hand, if Josh and I did not stay together, I would be forced to do most of this teen parenting stuff on my own. I would have to live at my mother’s house until I turned eighteen, and even though things at home were great for the time being, I knew they could quickly change back to catfights and bickering to no end. After a thirty-second battle with my own mind, I decided to stick it out to see if he was capable of growing up. After all, he had just made a small amount of progress.
The clock was nearing noon, and I was ready to spend time at home with my new baby. I was excited when my mother returned from the nurse’s station with the news that I could go home. Josh and my mom helped pack everything up, and Chloe was safely tucked into her car seat and ready to go on her first car ride. I could not believe how tiny she looked in her seat. She was so delicate, and every movement with her was slowly and cautiously carried out. On the way home, my mom stopped by our local grocery store to get dinner and a prescription for me. I thought it would be fun to take my new baby into the store with me and show her off to the envious women who were past their childbearing years.
I thought young mothers were so much better than older mothers. At least we were pretty and still youthful with enough energy to play with our kids. This parenting thing is going to work out just fine, I was thinking to myself as my mom and I were checking out at the store. The Clerk, who had interacted with our family frequently from several years of our local shopping, was looking at me strangely. She looked confused. Finally, after purposely stepping away from the counter to get a good look at my new prize, she said “Oh my! How old is the baby? I was hoping it was one of those fake plastic babies the kids get from school! I’m sad to see that it’s not a school assignment!” This ticked me off, and I felt the blood rushing to my face in anger. I gave her no reply. What would I say anyway? “I’m sorry I had a baby,” or “Yep, my baby is real!” Luckily, my mother did the talking, and I got out of explaining my situation. I was sad after this encounter because I knew that the negative remark would not be the last one I heard.
We pulled into the driveway of our home eager to carry our new family member in and get her acquainted. As I began to climb the stairs, I noticed that there were scattered
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