heaven and a donut: a pregnant woman’s living wish

I never used my golden ticket.

Nine long months and not once did I demand pad thai or cinnamon raisin bagels or Honey Nut Cheerios.

I suppose I’m lucky to say that my only lingering regret from my first pregnancy was never cashing in on my free pass to satisfy my every hormonal urge and craving. (Not counting my perfectly reasonable obsession with crushed ice by the bucket during my final two months. Side note: unless you are Indiana Jones or Houdini you just. won't. find. snow. in tropical Australia in the dead of summer... or the dead of winter for that matter. Crushed ice will just have to do.)

But no, my golden ticket sat collecting dust on the shelf while I happily munched on ice and my belly grew to busting point.

What a waste of power.

But this time, things are different.

I’m older. I’m wiser. I’m… hungrier.

I was eleven weeks along when I went out last weekend for a girls’ night out with friends. I had contentedly sipped my Sprite for two hours when my first craving hit me like a hurricane.

Donuts. Front and center, they stole the stage of my mind and took my every thought hostage.

All I wanted was one. Or maybe two. 

Three at the most.

I wasn't asking for anything fancy, just cinnamon donuts… a whim easily satisfied by a quick detour to the grocery store on our way home.

I loaded up my accommodating girlfriends and headed to the only supermarket in town still open. It was 9:57pm when we pulled into the parking lot (yes, shops do close that early here, even on a Saturday night). I was determined to be in an out in record time with my precious cargo.

After a frantic and fruitless search of the bakery section (twice), I left defeated and dejected.

There were no donuts. Not even a trace.

My head hung low, my shoulders slumped, the sparkle stolen from my eyes…

They locked the doors behind me at 10:02pm as I left empty-handed. It was in that moment that I wished my belly was just a little bit bigger. Then maybe somebody would feel sorry for me.

I just wanted a little sympathy.

And a donut.

My girlfriends tried to console me as best they could and I resigned to the fact that perhaps this pregnancy wouldn’t be so different than the first. After all…

I am woman. I am strong. I can live without donuts.

Yes, yes, yes!

I am woman.   I am strong.    I.  can.  live.  without.  donuts.

The next morning I woke to a gloomy, rainy day. It was Sunday—our day—and we decided to head to the mall, if just to have a place that Levi could run his little size four sneakers free without getting hammered by the torrential downpour that drenched our day-at-the-beach plans.

As soon as we stepped into the mall my husband turned to me and said these magic words: “How about we go and get a coffee and donuts?”

Right there on the spot I fell in love with that man all over again.

He knew not of my fruitless endeavors of the night before. He knew not that the baby and his* mama needed donuts.

And honestly, we aren’t even “donut people”. Ryan’s suggestion was left field… but sounded to me like a song from heaven. Surely Someone Divine whispered that thought into his mind. Surely.

I got my donut without so much as a whine or a fuss… or even a golden ticket.

In fact, I got two. Two fresh, warm, dunk-able cinnamon donuts.

Donuts have never tasted sweeter.

I have a sneaking suspicion my second pregnancy is going to be fabulous.

###

Dear friends, did you have cravings during your pregnancies? During my first it was ice, ice, and more ice. (Only because I couldn’t figure out how to get snow shipped in from my parents in Oregon.) During my second I’ve only had the one-off donut craving so far…. But we’ll see where it takes me. And you? How much did you use your golden ticket??

happy about my sweetie bringing me sweets,

*No, we don't know the gender of the baby yet. I just despise using the pronoun "it" for my child. Sometimes the English language is highly frustrating...

Also friends, this post is part of my Reclaiming Sundays project. For the record, our "gloomy, rainy day" turned out to be a perfect family day filled with muffled mall music, fake rides on a stationary Thomas the Train, and of course wonderful donuts. How were you deliberate in taking some time to enjoy those close to you this weekend?

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission