The Big Reveal

Keeping a secret can be hard. Keeping a secret that you want to shout from the mountaintops in joy and you know will make other people ridiculously happy is darn near impossible. After confirming our knocked-up suspicions, Charming and I decided it would be best to wait a while before telling anyone else our Big News.  This was not because we wanted to keep all the good feelings for ourselves but rather for the more practical reason of fear. We were scared if we told people, something bad would happen. Although not ancient, my age was a small factor in how things could progress, so we decided it would be easier to not tell anyone at first and set up a schedule for when and how to spread the news. Figuring out who to tell and in what order was a bit daunting but we figured it out by listing the people we would not have a problem with going to if something bad were to happen in the first few delicate weeks. For everyone else that did not fall under that personal umbrella we would wait until I was further along.  This also gave us the opportunity to come up with some really inventive ways to tell everyone I had a cupcake in the oven.

First up would be the parents/grandparents. My mom and dad were going to be in town for our ten year anniversary which would occur during my 8th week of pregnancy. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to spill the beans to both sides and let the soon-to-be grands bask in the glory of upcoming spoilage of a grandchild. Two months in felt like adequate time to clue the parental units in, as long as they understood they could tell NO ONE until we gave them the all clear after the three month mark.

We debated how to tell them. I didn't want to just come out and say it. I wanted to do it in a cute and inventive way. And I wanted it on video. This is the first grandchild on my side of the family and a long time coming for us so it was going to be a big reveal. We started tossing around the idea of working it into our vow renewal ceremony some way. We knew we wanted to tell them at that time but was not sure of the timing. The ceremony was going to be pretty short and compact so we would have to do it after when we were taking pictures. I suggested getting a group photo and whoever took the picture for us could just record video instead and get the whole thing on camera. Charming came up with how to say it and we excitedly waited for the day to arrive to tell everyone the Big News. Of course, with other people in the mix it did not go quite as we planned.

After three days of torture spending time with my parents and not being able to say anything, the day arrived. When the ceremony was finished (in which Elvis remarried us and it was totally kick ass) the limo driver offered to take some pictures. I pulled him aside and explained I had something to record and told him to just hit the button and it will do a video rather than a picture so we could get everything on video. I should have stressed to him to record no matter what I said because as soon as we all assembled and I said the words "Oh, we forgot to tell you something..." which was Charming's cue to say his line, the limo driver thought I meant I literally forgot something and needed to stop and start over, so he stopped recording. Which means I don't have the telling on video like I wanted. Only the aftermath when the limo driver realized what was happening and hit record again. So my big moment was not preserved for all eternity, but what can you do?

Back to the reveal...I said my line and Charming piped up with "This is a Shotgun Wedding!" This was his bright idea of a fun way to clue them in that I was pregnant. It was met with silence. So he tried again "This is a Shotgun Wedding!" Again, everyone just looked at him in confusion, not getting the correlation to what a Shotgun Wedding means and making the connection that I was pregnant. Finally, exasperated, Charming just yelled, "I'm gonna be a dad!" A beat and then the screams and tears began. It was a cool feeling to finally tell people who cared that we were going to be parents. Up until then we had just been telling people at the grocery store and in line at the bank just because we had to tell SOMEONE.

After the tears and congratulations and questions about how I was feeling, Charming and I went aside for five minutes to take a few more pictures. I should have known. I should have laid out the rules right then about our mum's the word stipulation right away. Because when we came back I saw my mom on the phone and knew she was already spreading the word. Worse, she was on the phone with my brother and I had had something really special planned for when we told him since he would be an uncle for the very first time. I, of course got very upset, which in turn got my parents very upset because they were just so happy they wanted to let everyone know. But, it was our news to tell and while I appreciated their excitement I still wanted to let people know in our own way.

With my brother's reveal ruined we quickly scrapped our other plans for Charming's brothers and ended up just calling each of them and telling them over the phone a few weeks later. We then contacted our closest friends and other family members and let them know. Everyone was thrilled and their reactions were so great I wish I could have bottled them all to save for rainy days. But the one person I really wanted to make the reveal special for was my grandmother. This would be her first great-grandchild and with my grandfather gone a year now, good news was needed.

I had a puzzle that had a poem on it with the last line saying "We're expecting" and an arrow pointing to turn the puzzle over. On the back I wrote "Hope you enjoy being 'Great'! Due 2/3/14" I included a sealed card with the pieces of the puzzle that said do not open until puzzle is together and inside that card was our first sonogram picture. When my aunt and grandmother called me they could not have been more thrilled and tickled pink with the way we let them know. I really wanted something my grandmother could keep and look at and now she has a fun reminder of what is to come.

Telling everyone at work was a lot more fun than I thought. People were so happy it was like it was my birthday and Christmas all rolled into one great day. And now everyone asks me how I am doing and how things are coming along. It is nice to have coworkers that share in your joy.

The last reveal was online and I came up with a twist on the standard MasterCard commercial where the prices of things are listed and the last item is always "priceless." I had a picture of us at our vow renewal and listed the cost of my dress, the chapel and Elvis' tip. Then at the bottom I said "Knowing there are three people in this picture: Priceless." It was a cute fun way to let the online world know we were expanding our family by one. Despite a few people looking for a midget hiding in the background of the picture, it was well received by all.

So now the whole world knows, which only makes things a bit more real. And I am now accountable to everyone, with regular updates needed on my condition and baby's progress. Which is fine by me because I love to talk about it and share the joy. And I might as well bask in the attention now while I get it because once that kid gets here, I'll be old news.