From time to time our posts might be of a more personal nature. I guess you should connect with us if you’re going to keep reading our blog. And maybe knowing parts of our adventure can help you on your own.
April 22-28th, 2018 is National Infertility Awareness week. Did you know Infertility effects 1 in 8 couples? That makes the odds pretty good that you know someone who feels the pain of infertility. In fact, if you’re reading this, I can guarantee you do.
I don’t want to spend time going into specifics. But I do want to explain how this has been part of our journey and how it has changed what we thought our adventure would be.
When we first got married 4 1/2 years ago, we had plans similar to so many couples. We thought we would start a family pretty soon (we were older when we got married and some things have expiration dates). We imagined teaching our kids playing piano and taking them to Disney and talking to them about our favorite musicals and showing them how to bake cookies.
But sometimes you end up on a completely different adventure. Realizing that having children wasn’t going to be part of our future, we made new plans. I decided it was time to go back and get the degree I had always wanted. Not that I didn’t learn a lot getting my History degree, but my heart always pulled me back to music. So with Adam’s support and encouragement, I auditioned and was accepted into the Vocal Performance program at the University of Utah. A year later, Adam joined me as he pursued his Masters degree in Vocal Performance.
We’ll both be graduating in just under 2 weeks. We’ve worked so hard and come so far. There were many times where we felt that we wouldn’t make it through the program. There were so many disappointments and feelings of failure. There were so many nay-sayers and those who tried to make us fail. But we helped each other through the hard times and enjoyed the good. And we forged our own path around all of the obstacles placed in our way.
We’re so excited to be participating in the Disney College Program after graduation. Disney is one of our passions. Our hope is that we can combine a few of our passions and turn them into our careers.
Yes, we get to travel just the two of us. Yes, we get to go out and not worry about a babysitter. Sure we can stay up late and sleep in because no one else is here to wake us up. And yes, we have decided to embrace our adventure and try to have a positive outlook. But sometimes it’s hard. Because when we travel, we travel just the two of us. When we go out, we don’t have to worry about a babysitter. We sleep late because no one woke us up asking to fix them breakfast. And our adventure isn’t what we thought it would be.
Ultimately, all any of us can do is to try to find the best in our adventures, whatever they may be. And we can try to help others along their adventures. We can encourage and give hope. We can support and teach. We can empathize and be sensitive.
Hopefully this has given you a different perspective on infertility and those it effects. This week, during National Infertility Awareness Week try to exercise a little more awareness of those around you who might not be on the adventure they planned, but are still making the best of it anyway.
For more information about Infertility, visit the NIAW site.
I feel you. Having been on both sides now I won’t say any of the things I hated so much while were were struggling to get our babies here. All I will say is you are loved, the Lord knows what you are experiencing and is aware of you (I always felt like He forgot about me), and yeah, you can do all thise things well-meaning loved ones say, but when you WANT to find a sitter, and be woken up at the crack of dawn, and to have your life not be your own it’s hard to not feel sad. Congrats on finishing school and for starting your new Disney adventure!! Love you!!