Lessons From An Unexpected Life

     From the beginning, my life has been unexpected and against the odds.   Throughout it has been filled with abundant lessons about life, love and loss.  Some have been serious. Others have been funny. All have been very unexpected and very helpful.   A series of personal essays, my book, "Lessons From An Unexpected Life" hopes to pass along some of the knowledge and insights I've gathered along the way.  

     Here you will find some additional essays I've written, some of which are included in "Lessons From An Unexpected Life."   I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I've had writing them.

I'm guessing I'm about 6 months old in this picture?  This is evidence that bald IS beautiful!   :)

                                                                                In this one I have some teeth so I'm guessing closer to a year old.

Another guess - 3? 4?  3.5?  I finally had some hair!  Evidence that I'm a natural blonde...

An Unexpected Life

     A somber hush fell upon the tiny house as a big-bellied woman carefully descended the stairs from the second floor. What typically would be considered a time of great joyful anticipation was instead one filled with trepidation and dread. It was June 1971, and she was going into labor with her tenth pregnancy at the age of 42. With a look of fear in her eyes as if she may never return home, she said goodbye to her children, took her husband’s hand and gingerly walked out the front door.

     Diligent precautions were taken during the 6 months preceding. A few years prior, the woman had given birth to a full-term baby who passed away within 24 hours after birth – her third miscarriage. Concerned about her geriatric pregnancy and fragility, doctors at the Catholic hospital advised the couple to have an abortion. The odds of her surviving through labor were slim. In the 1970s, Catholic doctors just didn’t advise abortion. Going against medical advice, the couple dutifully followed their beliefs and trusted that God’s will would be done. After many months of anxious bed rest, it was time to bring another Krahe baby into the world.

     My father drove my mother two long miles to Saint Vincent’s Hospital. Orderlies met my parents at the Emergency entrance and whisked mom away into the building. Alone, my father waited inside, praying, sweating, and wondering in silence. At the time of the delivery, the doctor approached my father in the waiting room with an impossible choice: “Joe, we can only save one of them. What do you want us to do?” An impossible answer to that impossible question, my father’s earnest reply was, “Save them both.”

     I’m certain that Dad prayed a rosary as he paced the halls during those worrisome hours.

     “…Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us…” The Patron Saint of Mothers holds a special position in Heaven with the ability to bend God’s ear. Dad also offered up requests to Saint Jude, the Patron Saint of Lost Causes. This Hail Mary Pass needed both a quarterback and a receiver.

     A certified public accountant, my father was a numbers man. His calculus anticipated another baby boy, but God had a different plan. A little, pink-faced June baby was miraculously placed into the loving arms of an exhausted mother. A tiny Krahe girl came into the world. The name “Jared” was selected as an homage to Saint Jude. “But since you were a girl,” my father explained, “we had to think of another name on the spot.” My creative parents were inspired to name me “Gera Anne.”

     And that’s how my life began. Unexpected and against the odds.

#lessonsfromanunexpectedlife