Pregnant at 16
by
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Though my memory may be dim on a number of things, I have a hundred-watt recollection of the moment that I found out that in just a few months someone, a very little someone, was going to be depending on me - ME! - for everything.
I was still dependent on my own parents. How was this going to work?
I remember this one moment in time as if it occurred only yesterday.
My mom had just picked me up from high school. As she drove what turned out to be the longest drive home ever from school, I noticed that she was suspiciously quiet.
I could tell that she was deep in thought, but I had the distinct feeling that she might share those deep thoughts with me.
She kept looking at me with those distinctively special "mom eyes." You know - the mother's eyes that are so intensely loving, yet so intensely concerned at the same time.
I sensed that she must have something terribly important to tell me. It quickly became obvious to me that, at any moment, whatever was on her mind would be verbally passed along to me.
She had something to say, something to tell me, but she just wasn't quite sure where to begin.
I thought, "Did somebody die?"
As we were driving down the road, having already turned onto the quaint, midwestern street where we lived, my mom (who had taken me some days or weeks earlier to the family doctor for a pregnancy test - because moms really do seem to have a kind of sixth sense, especially about their own offspring) decided to just come out and say what I'm sure had been weighing quite heavily on her mind all day so far.
Ever so gently, compassionately, and quietly, but matter-of-factly, she put her precious hand in mine and said, "Lori, you're pregnant."
It was at that moment that my hundred watts of mind juices really started flowing and in fact, went into overload.
My heart sank to my stomach.
Then, my stomach made its way up to my throat.
My once rosy cheeks now lacked any color at all.
My insuppressible tears flooded my cheeks, drenched my clothes, and sprinkled onto my high school books.
I glanced over at my mom again.
Her "mom eyes" were bigger-than-life filled with the compassion that only a mom can have for her child. In my case, a child having a child - her baby having a baby.
After swallowing the big lump in my throat (it took several attempts), I quietly asked my mom to "just drive around the block."
I wasn't ready to go into the house yet.
I wasn't ready to go on with the rest of the afternoon.
Quite frankly, I wasn't ready for anything.
And, I sure wasn't ready to be a mommy. Not me. Not at 16!
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About the Book
"Pregnant at 16" is a deeply personal, informative and impassioned reflection on the outcome of the author's life as a result of her choice to carry and keep her baby when she became pregnant as a teenager, in 1974.
Lori's conversational style of writing eases the reader into her story effortlessly. Her narrative voice is friendly and charming, allowing the reader to develop a sense of personal rapport with the author.
Her passion and understanding for the pressures of teenage life are evident in her writing, and she creates a vivid portrait of the teenage social climate that rings true even today. She handles difficult topics - teenage pregnancy and abortion - with tact, and her experience in the medical field brings interesting insight to an often-veiled issue.
Her genuine, heart-felt prayer is that "Pregnant at 16" will soften hardened hearts toward young, unwed pregnant teenagers and their precious unborn children, and ultimately rescue the unborn from destruction by abortion.
Thirty-five years after her personal experience with teen pregnancy, Lori is now "Honey" to one, "Momma" to three, "Gramma" to four, and remains her daddy's "Little Papoochnick."
Lori and her husband, Joe, enjoy easy river kayaking, mountain hikes, casual evening walks, and entertaining as many guests as they can possibly squeeze into their home.
About the Author
Lori, an unwed pregnant teenager in 1974, chose life for her son, Danny. For the first three years of Danny's life, he and Lori lived with her parents, who were gracious emotional and spiritual uplifters. Lori married a Christian gentleman three years later, who adopted Danny as his own.