Teen Mom, No Regrets

At 9, I had my first kiss
At 10, I got my first period.
At 11, I lost my virginity.
At 13, I had my first glass of whiskey.
At 14, I was sexually active.
At 16, I dated a married man.

At 17, I fell in love, got pregnant, and fought to keep my child. My mother wanted me to get an abortion and wait til I was "older" to have children. She threatened me with never seeing Bear again. She attacked me and accused me of doing "it" to hurt her, and couldn't understand why I would do this to embarrass her. So, I moved out and got married.

By 18, when my oldest daughter was born, I had lived plenty. I was young mother but I loved my daughter and my husband and was determined to make it work. Bear and I were ready to be parents and we made sacrifices to give our daughter everything she needed.

At 20, I had our second daughter and though it was difficult raising 2 babies, we did what we had to, to care for our children. We didn't leave them with our parents so we could go out partying. We didn't expect someone else to pay our bills. We paid for daycare so we could work. We bought new clothes for them, not us, and put them above anything else. It wasn't easy being young parents, but we made it work.

At times we were hungry, but our children never were. We took some jobs that were demeaning and embarrassing. We lost our car, and lived in a hotel far from home. We walked to work in the heat and in the cold, but of all these things our children do not know.

What they knew was love, and laughter, and joy and happiness. We may have been "too young" financially but our hearts were old enough to love. Our age didn't matter for giving our children what they needed most.

At 25, we tried to have more children.
At 30, I was told I was in pre-menopause.
At 36, I am fully menopausal. (yes, I did that young, too.)

If I had waited until I was "older" to have children, waited til I had more money saved, or had a career, or a nice home, if I had waited, I would never have known the love of my children. The feeling of holding a child that needs you. The joy that comes from giving them what they need and sometimes spoiling them with what they want. If I had waited, I would not have the 2 things I'm most proud of in my life; my 2 beautiful girls.

Teen pregnancy is not always the best thing, but sometimes it's the right thing. Don't assume that just because someone is young that they can't be a good parent. With Mother's Day approaching, I'm happy to say that I'll be enjoying it with my husband of 19 years, and my 2 amazing girls, and that's the only gift I need.

What some said was a mistake, I say is the greatest decision I ever made.

♪Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking. lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making♪ (LeeAnn Womack)