Seven Years Time || Self Para
I left Kola, California for the big city of New York to attend Cornell University, right after high school. While I was studying to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Studies and Language with a minor in Teaching, I spent a few of years overseas in different countries learning languages and having a great time being fully submerged in the cultures. I loved it so much, I didn’t want to leave.
I graduated in five years and afterwards I stayed in New York where I worked a few in between jobs that involved translation for cooperate companies. That is how I met Jaxon Reed. He was apart of a high end business CEO training internship, and our paths just kind of crossed accidentally one day while we both sat in on the same meeting with an over seas company that I had to translate for. After the meeting we talked for a bit getting to know each other. It wasn’t long until we started going on dates, then actually dating and then planning on moving in with each other.
It was about a year after Jaxon and I met when I found out I was pregnant, and Jaxon wasn’t a bit thrilled. He became very aggressive and said that I was jeopardizing his career, that he didn’t want nor had time for a family right now, and that I should just get rid of it. That hurt, very badly. I wasn’t intentionally trying to start a family so soon, it was a surprise to both of us. I did what he asked going against my raised beliefs about it and walked into an abortion clinic, but after sitting in the waiting room for only five minutes, I couldn’t do it and I had to walk out of there.
Growing up Roman Catholic in an Italian household, my family believed that everything happened for a reason. That blessings arrive in you lap as disguised from what they truely are. I was twenty-five, and I didn’t know when I would ever get pregnant again because I knew that I wouldn’t be dating for a very very long time after all of this. Maybe this was God’s blessing in disguise, that it was time for me to be a mother as scary as that seemed.
That night I called my mom and told her what happened, she told me that if I really wanted to do this, and he didn’t want to be involved that I had to get it written agreement saying so. So that is what exactly what I did, I called up a lawyer and met Jaxon for lunch and laid out everything. I told him that I would be keeping the child and that:
I explained to him that he would have no rights to the child, no visitation or contact what so ever, as if it wasn’t even his, just like how he wanted. I was not to ask him for any kind of child support or alimony, that I would be doing this all on my own. As annoyed Jaxon was with the situation and me bringing in a lawyer, he agreed to everything and signed away the rights to the baby.
About six months after that was handled, I moved back to my parents’ house temporarily in Kola, seeing that there was nothing keeping me there in New York City anyway. During my pregnancy I continued to work, just little jobs that were easy for me, day cares, call centers, substitute teaching, things like that. For eight months and a week, I endured every punch that came with my pregnancy and kept going. I went to all the baby classes by myself and kept my head up high to be strong for my son.
I went into labor on the bus ride to my parents’ house from work and I was so scared. I was alone and had nothing ready for the hospital. I called my mom as soon as I could and talked her through everything I needed and told her to meet me there. The bus driver was nice enough to drop me off at the hospital, and congratulated me on my ‘little blessing’.
When I saw my mom, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had no idea what to do and I was just overall just scared that this was finally happening. She was able to get me to relax and told me. “This baby needs you, Natalie. You gave him this life, now let him start his journey on living it. You will always be there for him no matter what, don’t let him down now because you are scared. Show him how strong you are, how dedicated you are to being his mother. _:”
After being in labor for almost 14 hours, 7 pounds and 10 ounces, Kian Elijah, named after my father Lucas Kian and my grandfather Elijah, entered our lives and would forever change them. I couldn’t have done it without of the support of my family being there for me. After Kian was born, having their help was a great blessing, but I knew that I had to step up and take responsibility. So Kian and I left my mother’s house and moved into a small one bedroom apartment, that way I have some independence when it came to raising my son. I am not too far away from my family, so they are always nearby if I need help which is nice. But like I told my mom, “This was my choice. If I am going to do this, then I need to do this my way and raise my son to be the great man that I know he will become. He will be unconditionally loved by everyone in this family, and that is all he needs, is this family.”
Kian is now four months old and I am blessed for his happiness, health, and strength. Not only his, but the strength he has given me as being his mom.