I’m Pregnant!

by Harriet Hairston

…But not like you think. I’m not expecting a live, human baby (not yet, anyway). But I’m pregnant with promise and potential. I’ve conceived the impossible dream, and I know eventually my labor, pain and pushing will not be for nothing. In this case, both men and women know what it’s like to give birth. It’s not just a joke from the Cosby Show, but an actual possibility that must become reality, lest we harm both ourselves and our dreams by making them stay in the womb too long.

When I was pregnant, so much transformed in my life!

My diet changed.  I was already a healthy eater, but for some reason, meat was no longer just an optional part of my meal.  I had to have SOMETHING.  The same is true when you’re pregnant with a vision:  you can’t just watch anything on TV or listen to foolishness on the radio.  It’s like everything you do is pointed towards the goal that you’re reaching for.  I’m reading books, interviewing people who have already gone where I’m trying to go…my whole intake has changed!

I couldn’t just hang out with anyone.  I didn’t want certain voices and attitudes to affect my baby in utero.  So now, I can’t hang out with folks that are always negative, or always doubting that dreams are not for “ordinary” people.  Dreams and vision ARE for the ordinary, but the extraordinary happens when steps are taken towards bringing the dream to reality.

I forged an even greater bond with the people who really mattered in my life.  My husband and I grew closer, my friends who were mothers already were looking out for me, my mom and brother were always asking me how I was doing.  When you’re pregnant with a vision, you find out who really matters, and you forge even stronger bonds with those who really want to see you succeed.  You also find out who doens’t have your best interests at heart, and would rather see you remain the same or regress, because they know that YOUR success effectively removes from them every excuse they’ve made to stay the same.

I knew I wanted to do what was best for my baby.  For example, my son was two weeks early.  The doctor insisted on inducing my labor because the poor child didn’t have anymore room to grow!  Sooner or later, that vision is going to begin to pressure your life.  Sooner or later, you’re either going to have to give birth, or you run the risk of both you and the vision dying from the inside out.  When I told the doc I was too tired to push, he told me that it was “crunch time,” and that if I didn’t, both of us would be harmed.  It was worth it to me to go through the temporary pain to see my son burst forth at 9 lbs. 9 oz.

We were all born dreamers.  Some of us have fed our dreams, while others have ignored them, as if eventually our pregnancy would not begin to show.  Tragically, some of us have aborted our dreams.  Yet the thing about the human soul, much like the human body, is that it was created to heal itself.  Conceive a dream, and do what it takes to make it a reality!

God bless!

~ Harriet

Harriet Hairston, a freelance writer, human resources administrator at an HBCU and creator of the motivational blog, “Can She SAY That?!?” has a unique style that brings readers into her life through her transparent demeanor. She lives in Louisiana with her husband and two sons.  You can reach her at harriet_hairston@yahoo.com.

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

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