Are you pregnant or just fat?

First of all, never say this to a woman. Secondly, NEVER say this to a woman. Now on to the subject at hand. This post was inevitable as my beautiful bride, Jenny, is expecting our fourth child any day now. I am no expert on pregnancy as I’ve never been with child. (Yes, people still use the term “with child.” Awesome.) I have been around my wife for all four of her pregnancies. So I claim second hand revelation. Not as good as first, but it will have to do.

Pregnancy is a bear. Not an actual bear in the woods, but it is tough to bear. Thus the term childbearing. When people can’t handle something they say, “I can’t bear it.” All sorts of challenges come up during pregnancy: sleeplessness, discomfort, immobility not to mention pain. The last month is the most challenging. If you were to ask my wife if she would like to carry Adalyn (the next in the illustrious line of Rowan children) for another month, there is going to be a face punch in order. Not really … she prefers to kick.

Not everyone will physically carry a baby. I can say with certainty that roughly 50% of the world’s population will not. Although, everyone has conceived an idea or dream that is waiting to be birthed. With real pregnancy we know that in 9 months this thing is done. Figuratively speaking, the wait and travail may be shorter but many times it is much longer. Some of the same symptoms of sleeplessness, discomfort, immobility and pain will manifest when we are waiting to birth our dream into reality. The trick is not turning into a fat blob waiting for it to happen.

We may not know the exact date that our dreams will come to fruition, but we can always be actively pursing them. Not to do so will turn us into Chubs McGee. If we decide this idea pregnancy will happen when it will happen without any effort on our part, we will be greatly disappointed. We must bear the brunt of the dream. No one else is going to carry it for us. Others will come to our side and help, but they cannot be the dreambearer. New word. It falls on our shoulders to push through to the end.

How to birth a dream…

1. Take your vitamins – Feed yourself with good things. Nothing will kill a dream quicker than negativity whether it be internal or external. Get surrounded by those that will spur you on to greatness. Have self belief. If you do not believe it will happen, it definitely will not happen.

2. Go see your specialist – Find the right expert mentor to help your dreambearing experience. A person that has the experience of making a dream reality is invaluable to have as you pursue your own dream. They can share things to do and not to do that will make your life much easier.

3. Get your rest – As important as it is to pursue, create, work hard and make things happen, there also has to be rest. Do not burn out before the baby is here. There are times to relax and let your mind go somewhere else for awhile. Take a dream vacay. Literally take a vacation from your dream or go on a dream vacation. Just don’t forget to come back. You get fat if you stay too long.

4. Push – The last part is the hardest. When it comes time for a dream to birth into reality, we have to push through all the difficulty to see the result we envisioned in the beginning. There may be serious pain that comes at this time, but it will be worth it once you are holding your baby. Do not let temporary discomfort keep you from experiencing long term satisfaction.

If you have been waiting for something to happen, get off your duff, fatty! Your dream is waiting to born. Do something about it.