One Score Minus 13 Years Ago Today...

I learned a baby was on the way. (Note the use of the singular in the preceding sentence.)

'Twas a Saturday back in 2001, and my husband was busy with two friends dismantling the asbestos-enrobed 1929 furnace in our basement. To stay out of their collective hair, I decided to putter around town running errands; and for reasons unknown at the time, I was inordinately exhausted.

That morning, I had not one but TWO ephedra-laden energy bars in an effort to pep up...to no avail. That afternoon, went to Barnes & Noble for a caffeine-packing coffee and an ultimate espresso brownie. Surely that would work. Nope. [Before you condemn me for such lackadaisical prenatal consumption, please bear in mind a pregnancy test administed earlier in the week was negative.]

What my original reason was for darting into the CVS at the end of our street was, I no longer remember. What I do remember is they had the then-pricey pee-stick pregnancy tests on sale.
Came home, checked in on the furnace-removing fellows and thought what the heck...might as well reconfirm the most recent attempt to spur ovulation from my formerly Pill-dulled ovaries was indeed unsuccessful.

Surprise! Jeans couldn't even be rezipped before the indicative second line appeared.

Love those dear basement-clearing friends (and their wives) with all my heart, but they couldn't leave fast enough! Once they departed, flutes and cider -- and share the stick time.
(Shortly thereafter began the pregnancy aware paranoia of all the misguided behaviors the preceding month...)

Funny how we thought the pregnancy itself was such a surprise at the time. Little did we know the real surprise was to be revealed a few weeks later...