Creating a Meaningful Life

By Lisa Chandler, 7 October, 2010

This image is a human embryo five days after a single egg was fertilized with a single sperm cell:

Human Embryo at 5 days (a.k.a. blastocyte)
Human Embryo at 5 days (a.k.a. blastocyte)

This is an ultrasound image of the same embyro at 10 weeks gestation. It already has a beating heart (and had one since 6 weeks gestation):

Ultrasound Scan of Fetus at 10 weeks Gestation.

This image, much less clinical, shows the same fetus from the outside. In this image the fetus is 19 weeks old and is the size of a large mango! 

A view from the outside!
A view from the outside!

And finally... 

And if you hadn't guessed already...
And if you hadn't guessed already...

Yep, if you hadn't already guessed...this baby is growing in me. As of today, I am 19 weeks pregnant! 

I gave a speech called "Creating a Meaningful Life" last night at my Toastmasters' Club. I got quite emotional at one point while delivering it.  You see, it's a pretty big milestone for me to be almost halfway through my pregnancy.  The road has been long and winding.  One surgery, six cycles of increasingly invasive treatments, and 3 previous pregnancies all ending in very early stage miscarriages....this has been the road. If you had asked me when I was 30 years old what I envisioned for my future family, my answer would have been far more traditional.  Now I am embarking on single motherhood (for now). 

I feel confident the right guy will come along at some point and I made the decision to proceed anyway because my biological clock was tick tocking really loudly (and yes, it really does become a lot more difficult for many women to conceive after their mid thirties). Fear, anger, sadness, confusion, uncertainty and even jealousy--these were some of the emotions I cycled in and out of over the past few years.  

And the doubt. 

Oh my goodness the doubt! When things weren't going well I would ask myself,

Is this a sign that I am not meant to be a mother? Is it time to pursue adoption?

And the most difficult question of all (and one I came to hate because I really struggled with it)

Do I even want to be a mother anyway???

Fortunately for me, I had many cheerleaders along my winding road, most of them mothers themselves. They, in my darkest moments of doubt, affirmed that having a child would be my greatest joy and that I needed to continue on the road to create this in my life.  I am so grateful to these women. They know who they are. 

We recently read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years for our bookclub.  The premise is essentially this: that we create meaning in our lives by the stories we live. 

Our lives, just like great movies, are more meaningful when the main character wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. Well this story, my current story, still in progress, is creating great meaning in my life.  And I needed to share it simply because I am looking at my life, my business, and my future though a different lens these days.  I am still the same me.  I still want to be a masterful coach helping high-aspiration business owners and professionals create their great story.  I still want to be a loving daughter and sister and a true blue friend.  And I still want to tango. So don't count me out.  In fact, count me in more than ever.  

The plot is about to thicken. And so is my waistline!