Creating life. It's both the great miracle, and the great mystery. My name is Sydney Reynolds, and this is the story of myself and my wife Olive. Or rather it's a story that starts out with just the two of us, but ends with... the three of us...

Sydney and Olive were both laying next to each other in their bed naked smiling and sweating as Sydney said, "Wow babe. Three times in an hour. That's gotta be a record." Olive smirked as she sarcastically said, "Wait. You were using protection, right? Don't want an unplanned pregnancy." Sydney's face suddenly began to look serious as Olive said, "What? What did I say?" Sydney was silent for a moment, but then slowly said, "Olive... I know you're joking but... do you think we're ready to have a baby?" Olive looking surprised said, "Seriously?" Sydney nodded and said, "I am. We've put plenty of money into savings. We've built a large support network of family and friends around us for help. And I know we've said we do it one day. So... I want that day now." Olive looking concerned said, "Sydney... this will change everything you know?" Sydney nodded and said, "I know. And I know that as much as I think I'm ready, I'm sure plenty of unexpected things will happen because of this. But there's no one else I'd rather experience those challenges with than you." Then Olive said, "Well... I think we obviously need to talk to some friends and family for advice just to make sure we both know exactly what we're getting into but... yeah. If you're ready for this... I'm ready too." Sydney made a big smile as she said, "Really?" Olive nodded and said, "Really, really." Sydney then immediately kissed Olive on the lips and then said, "Oh my gosh. I love you so much." Olive then with a big smile said, "I love you too." Sydney then kissed Olive quickly again and then said, "I love you babe. I love you so much. Oh my gosh. We're going to have a baby. We're really going to have a baby."

Two weeks later, Sydney and Olive were sitting in the living room of Sydney's childhood home with Sydney's father Max, and Sydney's grandmother Judy. An excited looking Judy then said, "Oh my gosh. This is so exciting. You two are going to be such adorable looking moms together." Max then said, "I agree. But have you two figured out the logistics yet? What kind of procedure are you gonna use? Who is taking the real time off work?" Olive then said, "Trust me Mr. Reynolds. We've been spending a lot of time talking through those details. Our doctor gave us a book that's helping us plan all those details, and insisted we don't go through with this until we've planned it all out." Sydney then said, "So the plan is Olive's brother Sean is going to be the donor, and I'll be carrying the child and staying at home for awhile after he or she is born." Max then said, "That's real sweet of you Sydney but you're still a semester away from graduating college. Don't you wanna finish that first, so that'll you be able to find a better paying job once the baby is born?" Sydney then said, "Dad, you taught me being a parent is about making sacrifices. And I'm willing to make this for him or her." Olive then took a deep breath and said, "Actually... you don't need to Sydney. Because when you were getting tested at the hospital, I took one too... and the doctor said I was also healthy enough to do the procedure if I wanted. So I'll do it."

Sydney looked right at Olive with concern as she said, "What? But Olive. You..." Olive then said, "Sydney, you have better grades than me, and have such a bright career in front of you. I want you to take the time to get that." Sydney then with increasing concern in her eyes said, "But I don't want you to do this all on your own." Olive then said, "It won't be all me. I already talked through the idea with our doctor. We can add another step to the process and have it be your egg that I'm carrying. So it'll still be a part of you that creates this life." Tears appeared in Sydney's eyes as she said, "Olive. I can't ask you to..." Olive then said, "But I want to Syd. This is what you do for your wife and soul-mate. The willingness to do anything." Tears appeared in Sydney's eyes as she immediately hugged Olive. Max then said, "Well... we'll give you some time alone." Sydney then looked at Max as she said, "Wait dad. Um... our book we were reading told us how it's important, even when a kid has two loving moms, to still make sure a child has a stable male presence in their lives. And we obviously know you're gonna want to be around for your future grand-kid's life, but... well, we weren't sure if you were planning to move away once you retired or something like that, but... we were hoping that as our kid grew up, you would kind of be their..." Max smiled as he got up, walked over to Sydney, and then got on his knees next to her and said, "As long as I'm around, I am happy to be a steady part of your kids' life as they grow up." More tears appeared in Sydney's eyes as she hugged Max and said, "Thanks dad."

Many weeks later Sydney and Olive were both sitting in the bathroom in just their underwear holding hands tightly as Olive closed her eyes. Sydney then looked over at the sink and said, "I think it's ready. You wanna check?" Olive turned her head and said, "No. You check. I'm too nervous." Sydney then reached over a grabbed a stick from the sink. Sydney looked at it and said, "Now lets just look at the color and... I... Olive... you're pregnant." Olive opened her eyes as excitement spread across her face as she said, "Really?" Sydney held up the stick as she said, "Really, really." Olive then in pure excitement kissed Sydney on the lips and then said, "Oh my gosh Syd, we're gonna be parents. We're really, really gonna be parents!" Sydney then said, "I know babe. Thank you for doing this. I love you so much." Sydney and Olive then kissed again as Olive slowly fell back on the bathroom floor as Sydney got on top of her and then began to pull their underwear off. Olive then broke their kiss as she said, "Whoa. You wanna do it right here and right now on the bathroom floor? I'm pregnant now. You don't wanna get me too excited." Sydney then smiled as she said, "Sorry, but I just can't help myself. I love you so much Olive."

Months later, Sydney walked into an apartment as she said, "I'm home! You here babe?" Sydney then heard Olive from the bathroom say, "In here Syd!" Sydney then waked into the bathroom and saw a naked Olive taking a bubble bath. Sydney began to take off her clothes as she said, "Mind if I join you?" Olive smirked as she said, "Just don't get me over-excited. I'm five months pregnant now, you know?" Sydney smirked as she took off her underwear and then got into the bath tub naked with Olive. Olive then looked at Sydney as she said, "How did everything go today?" Sydney then said, "Great. Mr. Jacobs said I'm the best intern he's ever had, and that I'm a shoe-in to get a paid job there after I graduate." Olive smiled as she said, "Glad to hear good news. And speaking of good news, the doctor called today and said they know the gender of the baby now. And... I couldn't resist but find out immediately. I know I should've called you or waited or..." Sydney smiled as she said, "No, it's okay babe. You knew I was busy today. So... the gender?" Olive looked at her growing stomach and put her hands on it as she said, "It's a girl." A big smile went across Sydney's face as she said, "A girl? Really?" Olive nodded quickly as she said, "Really, really." Sydney then gave Olive a quick kiss and then looked at her stomach as she said, "Oh my gosh. A girl. We are going to be mothers of a beautiful baby girl." Sydney then looked into Olive's eyes as she said, "I love you so much Olive." Olive smiled as she said, "I love you too Sydney."

Months later Olive was in a hospital delivery room surrounded by doctors and nurses as Sydney stood by Olive's side holding her right hand tightly. Olive's face was in pain as she was going through labor, while one of the doctors said, "Come on now Olive. Keep pushing. You're almost there." As Olive was sweating hard, Sydney smiled as she said, "Come on Olive. You got this. Remember, I love you so much." As Olive had a very painful look on her face she said, "Rrr. I love you too, but I would love it so much more if this baby just came out of me right now! Errrrrrr! Aahhhh!" Then after several more moments, the sound of crying could be heard as one of the doctors said, "And there's your girl. Now lets just cut the cord and clean her up." Then after several moments, one of the doctors handed a small baby girl over to Sydney and Olive. Olive instantly embraced the girl in her hands as tears appeared in her eyes while she said, "Oh my gosh. She's so beautiful." Tears appeared in Sydney's eyes as she said, "Oh God, she's perfect. Oh Olive, I am so proud of you." Olive smiled as she said, "Sydney, I... I can't believe this is happening." Sydney then got on her knees and brought her face close to the baby girl as she said in a sweet voice, "Hey there little girl. We're your moms. Hey."

Creating life is something that seems so simple to do, and yet it's surrounded in so many complicated questions; such as: why do we do it? Why do we allow such a game changing event to forever alter the course of our lives? Is creating a life simply a natural product of the human condition to love? Is it just a societal norm that we don't know how to stop perpetuating? Does it stem from our selfish need to feel more love in our lives by a defenseless human being that requires our attention? Or maybe it's a means to keep us selfless. As I learned from my experience with my wife Olive, I've come to realize that creating life requires sacrifice. It requires completely and utterly thinking about others outside of yourself. It means giving everything you have to your significant other, and the new child that you're bringing into the world. And maybe that's a lesson we all need to be reminded. Life itself can only move forward properly if we remember how important the needs of others are outside of our own. And once you create a life, you're constantly reminded of that. So maybe the mystery of life isn't so mysterious after all. Maybe the concept of creating life simply exists to help us remember to continue creating love to show to everyone around us.

THE END

Next Chapter:

Chapter 5: Individual Unique Moments