Motherhood started a bit different than the average way for me, it started at 16, yes 16! When I found out I was pregnant I was filled with anxiety, sadness, fear, Panic lol! Here I was a junior in high school, hanging with my friends, being a good student, working a part time job at Chic-fil-A – I really thought I had it going on. The first person I told the news to was my sisters, they bought the pregnancy test and as the 2 red lines appeared I think we all almost passed out. The thing is I was the baby of the family, the kid who seemed the most innocent, no one even knew I was having sex! So now it was time to tell my parents, I remember that moment so clearly. I was terrified! My mom was never one to talk much about sex, all she ever said was “if you get pregnant you’re keeping the baby” so that was cemented in my brain. I asked my parents to come to my room to deliver the news, through sobs and tears I told them “I’m pregnant” omg what a relief to get that news out but now this is REAL. My parents were of course disappointed but I knew they had my back then and still do to this day. I am thankful for that! I distinctly remember my dad consoling me and saying don’t worry we got your back.
My pregnancy wasn’t the conventional pregnancy with a husband to go pick up my favorite cravings or to rub my aching feet after a long day. It was rough, I was emotional and full of anxiety the entire time. My due date was January 22, 2002 but my baby boy decided he wanted to wait a little longer to make his grand entrance. Kaleb arrived on January 25, 2002, I don’t remember much about the labor process (maybe I’ve blocked it out haha) but I was so happy and filled with joy to see my beautiful baby’s face.
Raising a son and still being a baby myself was not an easy journey. There were moments I didn’t think I would be able to do it. The pressure of balancing being a mom, teen, still having friends and a social life was a lot to handle but somehow I did. I remember many nights of crying out to God for strength to get through, and HE was always there. For many years I felt like I was on a constant pursuit of perfection, trying my best to not be the statistic, the typical “Teen Mom”, you know there’s a whole MTV show about them lol. Well I was determined to not be that! Kaleb and I grew up together in a sense, the older he got the more confident I became, the stronger I became. I pushed through and defied the odds that were against me.
As I write this today, in just a few weeks my little teen mom baby prepares to graduate from high school (minus Corona attempting to ruin that). We did it!! The first stage of parenting is wrapping up and the thing I never imagined I had the strength to do, I did. I raised a whole kid! I can never say I did that alone, I had the good Lord by my side, an amazing village that filled the gaps and had my back even when I didn’t think I could make it. So now I begin to usher in a new chapter of life, being a parent to a college student and having an empty nest, pray for me!
Written with love by my dear friend, Kristy Felton!
Can we all take a moment to Congratulate Kaleb (and Kristy) on the Class of 2020 high school graduation! So proud of Kaleb and Kristy, you made it through one of the hardest chapters of motherhood with a very unconventional start. You did such a great job raising him and Kaleb is a really great young man.
Thank you all for reading! XoXo