I\u2019m 39 weeks pregnant, carrying our second child, and every step feels like fire shooting through my body. I wanted my husband Alan\u2019s birthday dinner to be special, even though I was exhausted. His sister Kelly hosted a lovely evening\u2014family gathered, food on the table, candles lit. For once, I thought maybe we\u2019d have a peaceful night.<\/p>\n
But halfway through dinner, Alan leaned over with a grin and said, \u201cCath, after we eat, why don\u2019t you take Zoey home and put her to bed? I\u2019ll stay here with everyone and keep the party going.\u201d I froze. My fork clattered against the plate. Did he really just ask his nine-months-pregnant wife\u2014who could go into labor at any moment\u2014to drive home alone with our four-year-old so he could drink beer and smoke cigars?<\/p>\n
The room went silent. His mother, Grace, set down her fork and demanded he repeat what he\u2019d said. When he did, she gave him the scolding of his life. She reminded him that I\u2019d carried this pregnancy almost entirely alone\u2014doctor\u2019s appointments, sleepless nights, and even a nursery still unfinished\u2014while he excused himself with \u201cwork.\u201d For the first time, someone else saw what I\u2019d been feeling all along: I wasn\u2019t just tired. I was abandoned.<\/p>\n
I pushed back my chair, reached for Zoey\u2019s hand, and said, \u201cLet\u2019s go home, sweetheart.\u201d Grace walked out with us. Alan just sat there, staring at his plate. That drive home felt different. Something shifted in me. I realized that whether or not Alan was ready to be a partner, I was already doing the hard part on my own. I don\u2019t know yet what this means for our marriage, but I do know this: my children will never doubt that they are loved, even if I have to be the one to prove it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m 39 weeks pregnant, carrying our second child, and every step feels like fire shooting through my body. I wanted my husband Alan\u2019s birthday dinner to be… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n