Some Background

So, I feel a little weird about this, but here it goes anyway.  I'm not really one to blog, but I have found myself on quite the journey here and I would like to share this journey with some of the people in my life.   That being said,  I don't really feel that it's facebook appropriate, hence this blog.  I suppose I also don't want to torture people with this information when they don't necessarily want to hear it.

So, as most of you probably already know:

1.  I am a lesbian, although this is pretty easy forget given my dating track record over the past eight years or so.
2.  As you could guess from above, there is no partner in sight.
3.  I really want to be a mom.

So, I have set a date of August 2012 to begin the turkey baster process.  August might seem kind of soon, but let me assure you, it has been quite the process already.  So, to bring you up to speed, this is how it all began:

I would say that I have wanted to be a mom FOREVER.  My sister could definitely verify the countless hours I spent raising a family of dolls growing up.  I wasn't one to play with barbies, but I definitely had my babies.  Interestingly, I had an imaginary husband, but he was almost always "away on business."  Basically, I've looked forward to being a mother for a really long time.

As far as artificial insemination goes, that's been pretty much a no-brainer since I knew I was a lesbian (around 2000-2001).  Yes, I have considered adoption, but more about that at a later time.

Around 2004-2006 (grad school), I started to think that I might need to eventually consider single parenthood.  By that point, I had experienced enough dyke drama for one lifetime.

2006-2009, I tried to meet someone, but it just wasn't happening.  I was also living in Philadelphia and hating it, so I began to plan my escape.  By that point, I was pretty sure I would pursue single motherhood, but it was hard to imagine how I would be able to pull that off.  However, in the past two years, some things have really come together for me:

1.  After meticulous research, I moved to Burlington, VT.  I was looking for a more family-friendly place to raise a kid and someplace where my income could stretch further.  Also, let's face it, Vermont is one of those places where the gays come to be free.

2.  The position that I was hired for here was eligible for federal student loan repayment for a two year commitment to work in a health care shortage area.  This freed up a big chunk of my income every month and is really what has allowed me to move forward with this plan.

3.  Thanks to a land trust program, I was able to buy a nice, affordable, two bedroom condo.

So, that brings me to 2012, two weeks away from turning 30, and hopefully the year that I get pregnant.  I still have some things that I need to accomplish between now and August, more on that later.

Most importantly, this is something that I am so EXCITED about.  One of the hardest things so far, has been having to keep this excitement to myself.  In other ways, I am a very private person, but I just find myself wanting to go up to people and be like "I got a positive OPK (ovulation predictor kit) today!"  So, there you have it.  If you want in on this excitement, feel free to keep reading.  If not, you will not have to be tortured by the status of my ovaries.