You're going to want to read this one

Sheesh. It has been a long while since the last time I posted anything. To be honest, so much has happened since then that its been too daunting to even try and put it all into some sort of form that makes sense, but we've got news and it needs to be spread. As the title states, you're going to want to read this one.

I want you think about these things first: John Lennon and the end of The Empire Strikes Back.


Lets go back to March 2nd, a Friday.

We received a broadcast from our agency that a 3yr old needed to be placed in a home by the next Wednesday and would we like to be considered. Of course, we said yes. On the following Monday they called us and said that CPS wanted to make SURE that we could be available on Wednesday, the 7th, because it looked like this was going to happen. So, my stress went into overdrive. Amanda has an essential oils roll on that is called "liquid Xanax" and I was pretty much bathing in it. At this point we are just waiting for the call. Then on Tuesday, out of the blue, we found out that our names were going to be submitted for a 2yr old and a 3yr old sibling group that we had said we would like to be considered for back in February. Our agency sent us information on the kiddos and we were told that we were in the final running to have our household considered by the staffing board. We figured that if anything happened with the first little guy that we would still like to be in the running for the sibling group. So, Wednesday finally rolls around and we get radio silence. No call, no email, we are just waiting and hearing nothing. At around 4PM we got an email saying he had been placed with a family member. We were bummed but we were still happy that we were in the finals with the other kids. All the training, inspections, waiting, stress, it was all starting to coalesce into this moment. The wheels were finally turning for us and things were "fo real."

Which leads me to Friday, the 9th and to the Walrus.

Goo-goo ga-joob.

This is John Lennon. He is officially my third favorite Beatle behind George and Paul, but above Ringo. But to be fair, having a least favorite Beatle is like having a least favorite year in which you won the lottery. But he did marry Yoko Ono, and that cannot be overlooked as a rather large demerit. Anyways, John was the Walrus, and you can look back at the lyrical content of the Beatles and see that he was the true poet of the group. He coined phrases such as "living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see", he wrote "Imagine", and the lyrics to "Across the Universe."
However, my favorite phrase that he ever wrote was this:

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans"

So what does the Walrus have to do with all of this? And do you remember what else I told you to think about? That's right. This guy.

Can I give you a hand? Too soon?

This is considered the greatest plot twist in film history. Nobody saw it coming. Minds were blown everywhere. Pandemonium in the streets. Up is white, black is down. Cats and Dogs living together. Mass hysteria. Well, thats nothing compared to Friday, the 9th of March. 

That, ladies and gentlemen is the plot twist to end all plot twists. Amanda and I are having a baby. Baby Massey is due November 9, 2018 and we are ridiculously excited. When I came home on the 9th of March I walked into our bedroom where Amanda was laying on our bed and sitting on the end of it was sitting a pregnancy test, and it was positive. We were in shock, but I was immeasurably happy. I just couldn't believe it. It was all so surreal, considering the week we had just gone through. I didn't even include dealing with turmoil at the office that I was going through. Needless to say it was like the Ice Bucket Challenge, but the with a bucket of crazy.

We had some decisions we had to make, such as, what in the world do we do now? Do we keep going down the adoption train? Can we deal with adoption AND a baby at the same time? We decided that it would be best if we became inactive with our agency and focused on the pregnancy. We just felt like it wouldn't be fair to any kids coming into our household since our focus on them would have to be shared with the baby, and those kids need as much attention as they can get. 

The hardest part of all this was having to keep it quiet. We wanted to wait until the first trimester was over before we let the world know, but it was difficult. I wanted to tell every single person I ran into. Like I was Mr. Bean with his credit card.

"Hi, welcome to Chick-Fil-A! How can I serve you?"

" I don't actually want food, I just wanted to tell you that my wife is pregnant and we are having a baby....... actually, since I'm here, I'll take a #5 with Chick-fil-a sauce"

I honestly can't believe how OK I am with all of this. Don't get me wrong, a baby is terrifying, but this is the most emotionally invested I have been in anything since I met Amanda. Seeing the ultrasound, and hearing the heartbeat, and realizing that we are about to bring one more short person into the world is nothing less than a miracle. My best friend Daniel asked me about 15 years ago what I thought I was put on this earth to do or to be. I think we were both struggling about where our lives were going to go, and I can remember telling him without hesitation that I honestly felt I was put on this earth to be a husband and a father. I don't think there were any plans in the mix for me to cure cancer, invent super Wifi, win a Grammy, or to obviously win the NBA Rebounding Title. I just had this feeling that being a husband and a dad was where I was going to be in my element, and I think thats why I just have this feeling of contentment washing over me right now. Of course, that will change with the first diaper change when I get the aft phasers firing at my face, but right now I'm just going to milk this feeling as long as I can. I've seen enough American Idol contestants who say that music is what they were put on earth to do and then when they start singing its sounds like an animal stuck in a vent somewhere, but I don't think this applies to me. I gotta good feeling about this.

The best part about all of this is that I get to raise a child with my best friend. She is going to be an amazing mother and I could not ask for a better wife and partner in all of this. Considering the better person she has made me in the past 7 years, I can only imagine how lucky our child will be to have her as a mom. 

Well, thats THE news. That's the plot twist. That's what happens when you are busy making other plans.

Life.