Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Just do it

A woman I met who now has donor egg twins told a story of how during her infertility journey she woke up one morning and said to herself, "if I can't have the dream of a baby, I will fulfill another dream." She got on a plane from Australia and flew to Chicago, stood in line overnight, and got tickets to see the Oprah Winfrey Show. It had always been a dream of hers to see the show live and she just went and did it. She explained that you spend so much time obsessing over the dream of having a child you just don't feel like anything else is possible because the baby is not happening. But she proclaimed that no matter how big or small your other dreams may be, just do one. It will make you feel better and it will break some of the chains that keep you feeling like a slave to infertility.

So when I was gearing up for my donor egg cycle, I said to my husband, "I need to fulfill another dream this year." If this donor egg cycle didn't work I wanted 2009 to include a dream come true. The only highlights I remember from 2006, 2007, and 2008 was loss, loss, loss. So when I looked at the other realms of myself, I remembered I have always dreamed of going to Prague. It always had this cool allure to me and I imagined myself walking around the historic city and hanging out at cafes and getting into the vibe of that place. I've traveled a lot in my life, but never yet made it to Prague. My husband has taken a couple European bike trips before meeting me and it's been his dream to do it again. Our friend happened to be getting married in Germany this July and so the universe gave us an opportunity to jump on our dreams. So, in order to fulfill both of our dreams, we are leaving this Friday for a 5 day bike tour from Prague to Vienna.

I am not a big biker or athlete but this seemed like a perfect way to fulfill a dream and to tackle a challenge. We have been biking outside the city as much as possible to train for the ride. Every time I had to pedal up a hard hill, I would say to myself "I am pedaling toward a baby. You will make it! You will make it!" I could grit and bear the pain in my legs and I realized what mental strength I have gained by waiting for this baby. No pain can really compare to what we all have been through and it's given me a sort of inner strength to muscle through pain - physical and emotional.

So I will take this two and a half week pause from blogging and enjoy this wonderful dream. I highly recommend anyone who can fulfill another dream this year, besides a baby, to just do it. If you can't tackle a big dream, tackle a little one. Just give yourself that. Now I have the pleasure of perhaps having two dreams come true - Prague and a baby. It's too good to be true. But I'll take it.

14 comments:

Angee said...

What a great post! That was really inspiring! I know I am guilty of putting life on hold in case I get pregnant. I'm so tired of it! Thanks for showing me a great example of how to live. Hubby and I are currently planning a trip to Paris to see Disneyland in Paris (one of my dreams). It won't happen this year, but it will happen in 2010. We will also be certified to adopt soon so ,here's hoping to fulfill 2 dreams that year! :)

JellyBelly said...

i absolutely LOVE prague!!! you will have a fabulous time!

you've inspired me to "just do it!" i just need to decide what "it" is!

Me said...

That. Is. Awesome!

DAVs said...

Woo hoo for dreams! Have fun! This is why I'm continuing my dream to get a book published. I love the craft of writing and I'm going to stick with it further than I did on my first book.
Have a fabulous time!

Best When Used By said...

What a great post...and a great reminder that we have to go on living life and reaching for dreams. Thank you for that! And thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog. I appreciate your kindness.

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Meg said...

Thank you so much for this post. That is a wonderful idea. Have a wonderful time. Hope you tell us all about it!!!

KH99 said...

I hope you have a wonderful time!!! In some ways, that's what graduate school is for me. I started in January 2006, right after I had a feeling we might have infertility issues, and it has been a great distraction.

Shinejil said...

Have a great time!

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful post, inspiring, I like the line "just do it" I have no doubt you will have wonderful time, its beautiful there.

I too put my life on hold for 8 years of IF treatment. Last year after a late loss, we decided (and booked within 48 hours) to go on a 6 week holiday, initially I was not looking forward to it but mid flight I started to relax and felt excited, we had a wonderful time, it was the best thing we ever did.

Enjoy and good luck and I will check back to see how it all went!

FET Accompli said...

I just loved this post - it was so inspiring. It's true, we have so many dreams, yet we become so very overwhelmed by one, a very important one, but to the extent that it overshadows all others and our lives become unbalanced and we feel like baby making machines. So it's awesome that you have been out biking, and congrats on heading over to Prague! Have a wonderful time!

the Babychaser: said...

Fabulous idea! Have a wonderful, healing time!

Shinejil said...

Welcome back, Tabi! Hope you're feeling great and will post about your adventure.

Amy said...

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I can be reached via Barbara@FairhavenHealth.com.