as God would have it, i had the most brilliant opportunity at work last week to speak with a young mother who was 21. as i wheeled her to ultrasound, i asked if this was her first baby:
"no.....i started young."
"how old are you?"
"21."
"how many children do you have?"
"this is my third.....my oldest is 7, i have a 5 year-old and now this baby."
because i am a math wiz, i said "14? you had your first at 14??"
"no. 13."
blown away, me. i continued on, not wanting to lose this opportunity...i asked if i could ask her a a serious question because my friends and i had been discussing this very issue recently; she was happy to comply with her answer, and it was a simple one:
"pregnancy at the age of 13 i am assuming is not what you would have chosen for yourself (she nodded in agreement) -- what, if anything, would have made your life different?"
"If my mother was 'there' for me and if my father was around."
i squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and quietly said "thank you."
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