01/13/2026
TWO SONS
When i first learned i was pregnant with my son, I went straight to the doctor. I wiggled a little in the chair before admitting I was pregnant (because unmarried). He paused. "Is this a good thing?"
I smiled sheepishly. "I guess we're having a baby!"
He looked relieved. "Oh!" he said. "The last woman who sat there and told me she was pregnant, I got all excited and shouted CONGRATULATIONS and then she said "actually I dont want to keep it.""
I think about that woman a lot. A LOT. We both had babies due at about the same time. (I imagine she had a boy but who knows.) And we saw life differently.
I think about her son a lot. Like how he never wore a diaper for a hat. Never spit out a tuna sandwich. Never rode his bike or had a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day. He never picked at his food. Never drove his teachers crazy. Never had a friend. Never fell in love. Never got the lead in the school play.
He probably never got a name.
And my son -- I'm writing this because he just turned 18. He has a big year ahead of him. And I think of how proud I am of him and how much I love getting to be his mom. Hasn't always been perfect, but its definitely been worth it. I truly cant imagine my life without him.
To be snuffed out.
Never to see the light of day.
That woman and I are both mothers. My son towers proudly above me. And hers, well, maybe I'm the only one who thinks of him. You might too now. And the other 94 000 lives snuffed out every year in Canada alone.
Life is precious! Let's treat it as such.
