Why “Evan Has Landed”? Part 1

I get this question A LOT! As I have been thinking about it more and more, I thought I would actually blog about it. You know, to let you guys in on how this name came about and why I haven’t changed it.

When I was growing up, I never dreamed about Prince Charming, nor did I dream about being a mom, or even having a family. Not that I didn’t have a wonderful mom as an example. I had an amazing mom! But those types of thoughts never entered my mind. I was too busy being a tomboy and running around getting dirty. And when I grew, my mom instilled in me to be an independent woman. One who could make it on my own, if I had too.

Then came my senior year of high school. I met a reserved, yet funny, young man that I fell head over heals for gradually,  we really didn’t like each other much when we first started dating. But we gave it a shot anyway and wound up falling in love. After our first year of college, I knew he was “the one”. But I also knew, we both needed to graduate before running off and getting married. So our “courtship” ended up being five and a half years.

We married. I found my Prince Charming.

Jeremy is my very best friend! He makes me enjoy life a lot more. He makes me laugh uncontrollably! He gives me an “artsy” way of looking at life around us.

Around the age of 20, before marriage, before college degrees, before “adulthood”, I sat down and wrote a list. This list was “what I wanted to accomplish in the next 10 years”. In my analytical mind, it just made sense to write a list so I had a “plan”.

Here is a snippet of that list:

1. Get my degree.
2. Finish college with a 4.0
3. Get married
4. Find a teaching job (teach for at least 5 years)
5. Travel to as many places as possible within the U.S and at least Paris and London
6. And by the time I am 30 have kids (after all of the above was accomplished)

You see, even upon marrying Jeremy, having children was the farthest thing from my mind. My family often jokes, that if it weren’t for Jeremy I would have never had kids.

I was selfish! I wanted to be selfish. I knew I was selfish! I wanted to enjoy Jeremy! Enjoy married life. Enjoy being free to get up and go.

Even though Jeremy and I dated for almost 6 years and married young, I wanted to experience life with Jeremy by my side. Because in the back of my mind, I knew that when the time came – and yes I knew it would come – that when I decided to become pregnant my world as I knew it would end. I knew that I would no longer be able to be selfish. I knew that my decision making would be completely dependent on not my needs but the needs of my children. I knew I would have to give up work, not because Jeremy expected it, but in my heart, that would be the best option for my family. I knew that I would no longer be able to get up and go, sleep in until noon, stay in bed all day if the mood hit, run out and play tennis whenever I wanted, stay out late with friends.

I knew that my world would NEVER be the same again.

I wanted to relish every moment of being “independent”.

After traveling to Europe, I knew that my time had come. I had accomplished EVERYTHING on my extensive list. I was 28. And 30 was quickly approaching.

We got pregnant on the first try! Seriously! Because I am so analytical and scheduled, I had it charted out and planned! Although, it didn’t exactly go as planned. I gave myself a 3 month frame, since that’s what EVERY book I read said to do. I had planned on having an April baby, so I could use my leave and not have to return to work that school year. But since I did get pregnant right away, January was it!

I was ecstatic to be pregnant.  I can honestly say I LOVED being pregnant! I had a fairly easy pregnancy. And as the months turned into weeks and weeks turned into days, I knew that my life would never be the same again. I was becoming a mom!

Mid pregnancy, Jeremy thought it would be fun to start a blog about Evan, to share with family members in other states. We had the hardest time coming up with a name. You see, I didn’t know there were “mommy” bloggers out there. I didn’t know what would bloom into a “mommy” blogger rich internet. I wasn’t trying to find an ingenious or creative name that would sum up the life of a mom. Actually, quite the opposite. When we started blogging 4 and half years ago, each entry was written as if Evan was writing it! Check out the very first entry! OR the first one that actually had a photo! It wasn’t until a year and half later that I realized that there were thousands of mommy blogs out there.

Each time we discussed names, the idea of our lives changing always came up. As in most cases, Jeremy and I couldn’t agree on a name. Until one evening, Jeremy joked and said, “Evan Has Landed and our world will never be the same again.” As if an alien attack was imminent and we knew we better hunker down and realize that the world was going to be drastically changed. We laughed for a moment, because the name was kinda silly. But after a few more days, the name kinda stuck!

Because after all, my “life” as I knew was going to change.

The moment, Evan “landed” in my arms, my life changed! And I wouldn’t want it any other way! My world as I knew it, would never be the same again!

To be continued…