We were going to stay at a friend's house on Friday night, but we instead got a hotel room in downtown. Saturday morning, I considered taking my kids to a crepe restaurant, but I found one closer that we hadn't been to in a while. I posted my location on Instagram, and that account is attached to my Facebook account. My best friend from high school messaged me and said she was at the crepe restaurant that we were originally going to go to. She said she was considering going to the restaurant that we were at, but they had gone there last weekend. After a few messages back and forth, we decided to meet up. It was more than a year since we had seen each other, and although it was a short visit, our conversations always fall into a comfortable rhythm like it was yesterday.
On our way home, my husband wanted to stop at a burger joint known for their deep fried mushrooms. With my morning sickness still in effect, I wanted nothing to do with the smell of what I would have previously considered tantalizing pre-pregnancy. I decided, instead, to go to the Thai restaurant down the street that my husband and I went to on our first date. I would pick up my husband and kids after I was finished.
Parking was difficult to find, but I finally found a spot really close to the restaurant. When I went in, they were closed! I was so disappointed! I Yelped other Thai restaurants in the area, and because we were in a downtown area, everything was within walking distance. The next Thai restaurant was 8 minutes away, so I trekked towards the restaurant. On my walk, I passed a little, baby store boutique that I used to frequent when my first two children were babies. The nostalgia of the times my kids were babies waved over me, but my focus was on getting my Thai food.
I didn't much enjoy my Thai food. I felt nauseated the whole time. I took the same route back to my car that I took to the restaurant. I passed the baby store and stopped in with one mission: Preggie Pops. I spotted exactly what I needed at at the register and purchased 2 boxes of Preggie Pops. I eagerly popped the savory candy into my mouth and felt instant relief.
If the Thai restaurant that I had originally planned on eating at was open, I would have never passed the baby boutique. If I hadn't passed the baby boutique, I would never have stopped and remembered that they had Preggie Pops. If you ever doubt the question of whether or not everything happens for a reason, let the serendipity of timing and location be the answer. The answer may not be as immediate as going to breakfast or stopping at a baby boutique when you're desperate to resolve the symptoms of morning sickness. The answer may happen months or years beyond the previous decision that you may have regretted as you went on your journey, but the answer will make itself clear, and it's usually an answer that works in your favor.
I went through a not-so-happy marriage, but two beautiful children resulted from the marriage. I struggled to survive as a single mother, working full-time, making LOW wages as an optician at, ironically, an upscale optometrist office, and also pursuing my college education full-time. I missed my kids because my schedule was horrible and coincided with mall/retail hours, and on my time off I had to commit to to my studies. I went from 4 years of doing everything for my children and family to merely trying to survive and get through the madness of pursuing my college degree while raising two kids.
I couldn't see it then, but all of that led me to this moment. I am now happily married, and my children have their mother 100% of the time. I am having a baby with the most gentle and loving man, who already dotes on me and the children and, quite frankly, spoils us rotten. I will never discount anything that happens in my life, by choice or by chance, as I now believe everything that happens surely happens for a reason.
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