BLOGWORDS – Monday 24 October 2022 – BOOK LAUNCH EVENT – GUEST POST – MARIA HENRIKSEN
BOOK LAUNCH EVENT – GUEST POST – MARIA HENRIKSEN
Please give a great welcome to fellow author and friend, Maria Henriksen. FourSquare has an unlikely number of twins. As a mother of twins, not only fraternal but one boy and one girl, Ms. Henriksen is well familiar with the uniqueness of having twins in the family.
PROUD MOM OF TWINS
Hi! 👋 Maria Henriksen here, proud mother of boy/girl twins. My journey as a mother of multiples is a great one, but it didn’t start out that way.
Early on in my pregnancy I had issues that caused my doctors concern to the point that I saw them more frequently than every two weeks. Maybe they just liked my sparkling personality.
I had at least nine ultrasounds and was restricted to bedrest weeks before my babies were due. Basically, I had every pregnancy issue you can find in the book, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, from heartburn to pregnancy itch. However, they weren’t the reasons for the frequent doctor’s office visits. I had spotting, pain, and water retention that caused my legs to resemble those of elephants. You name it. I had it.
Due to complications with my pregnancy early on, my second ultrasound revealed I was carrying twins as I suspected. Although we didn’t know the sex of the babies at that time, my husband and I named the babies in utero Hansel Hans and Gretel Nessie. My co-worker actually thought we were naming our kids that. Can you imagine?
During my last scheduled non-stress test, they had to induce me for fear of preeclampsia. I was moved to a delivery room where each baby and I were hooked up to a monitor. None of the monitors worked, so they had to wheel in different ones. I suffered through not one but two epidurals since the first one failed. In my state of delirium, I tried to set up the specialist with my sister. That didn’t go as I had hoped, but everyone in the labor room got a kick out of my attempt at matchmaking nonetheless.
After 16 hours of labor and being on display as a teaching tool for the interns, my doctor decided to give me a cesarean section which didn’t surprise me in the least. My babies couldn’t make it over the hump in my back. Without the cesarean, my precious babies and I would have died.
Once delivered, my babies appeared healthy, but due to me having a fever, they were put on antibiotics. It turns out that they didn’t need the antibiotics after all. My heart was crushed knowing my babies were given medicine they didn’t need. Both of my children did have Jaundice which was remedied easily enough with natural sunlight.
To my horror months later, my baby girl inexplicably turned blue and was rushed to the hospital. She stayed overnight in the hospital for observation, but the doctors never found a cause for the terrifying incident, nor did she experience that again. As an infant, my daughter also had a heart murmur, but that disappeared by the grace of God.
I have always treasured having twins. Despite a rough pregnancy, being a mother of multiples has been a huge blessing. My children have always been happy, caring, polite, intelligent, and athletic, just to name a few of their finer attributes. They never cried at the same time and fortunately for me, they loved having their pictures taken. They played on the same co-ed soccer team in elementary school with their dad as head coach.
After their grade school days, my kids were active in different sports. As a substitute teacher, I could be there for my children which included watching their sporting events. There were occasions when my kiddos had competitions at the same time at the same high school. After lacing up my running shoes, I literally ran from one sporting event to the other. I also exercised when my athletes had practice.
One day last spring on my lunch break while I was subbing, I received a phone call from my husband. He stated that my son crashed into a brick wall while riding his bike to work on his college campus. He literally hit a brick wall without a helmet! I met my husband at home, and we drove to the hospital together. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. By the time we reached the hospital over an hour and a half away, my son was discharged. I was happy to see him despite him being a bloody mess. We drove him to the athletic facility where my son worked which was close to the scene of the accident to have him tested for a concussion. Thankfully, the tests showed no signs of a concussion. A few days later, my son ran a 5K (3.1 miles) and did very well. In case you were wondering, the brick wall is fine and is still standing!
Fast forward to present day, my kiddos are well adjusted, healthy, and in their junior year of college. My son still runs long distance in college and is co-captain of the cross country team. He inspired me to start running years ago, and for a short time I ran competitively and even placed third in my age group for a 10K (6.2 miles). My goal is to run at least a half marathon (13.1 miles) in hopes that these old knees will hold up.
Competitive sports no longer capture my daughter’s interest. However, she’s still physically active to stay in shape. My ambitious daughter is involved in leadership in college organizations as well as in the honors program. Having caught the travel bug, she ventured to Colombia, South America over winter break last year. The following spring, my world traveler flew to Puerto Rico on a missions trip through a Christian campus organization in keeping with her passion to help others experience the love of God.
Both my husband and I are incredibly proud parents. People constantly sing praises of our children and that warms my heart. Being a mother of boy/girl twins has been the greatest honor and joy imaginable. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
THE AUTHOR
Maria T. Henriksen is a lover of reading and writing and hopes that people will enjoy her novel as much as she enjoyed writing it.
Helping others in any capacity is what drives Maria. Not Again was created with the intent of arming teens with the necessary tools to navigate life with peace, passion and clarity. She hopes that all readers, not just teenagers, will be able to employ those methods to overcome the stress that plagues us all.
Maria has a passion for health and fitness, and exercises on a regular basis. She can be seen running on a track, trail, or along the road several times during the week, especially in the summer. Her favorite place to run is down the shore, along the bay.
This spirit-filled Philadelphia suburbanite resides with her husband, Dave, of over two decades, along with their teenage twins. As a family, they bond over their love for sports, and each member makes every effort to cheer each other on at their competitions. Maria feels extremely blessed to have such a close family and continues to find each of them as a source of daily inspiration.
Be sure to check out the book trailer for Not Again to watch the novel come alive!
For more information about Maria T. Henriksen, visit her colorful website.:
https://www.mariathenriksen.com
MORE FROM MARIA
This poem was written in the middle of the night during the fall of my children’s senior year in 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak. Little did I know the following months we would be confined to lockdown. It was a horrible experience to witness my once thriving children spend their glory days of high school under quarantine. Both were robbed of Prom, graduation, multiple awards ceremonies, hanging with friends, and were restricted to the mockery of online learning. In addition, since all sports were banned due to the Corona virus in 2020, my son couldn’t compete in spring track which channels his spirited energy. Fortunately, before the virus hit, he as an individual as well as his team went on to win districts in cross country later in the fall of 2019. The athletic talent didn’t end with my long distance runner. My daughter scored the most field hockey goals, thereby finishing her athletic career with a bang. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to celebrate their amazing athletic accomplishments as the senior sports banquet was cancelled. However, I still have the memories of attending their competitions and will forever cherish those moments.
A MOTHER’S MIND
There once was a mother of twins
She loved them very much within
They were born with each having their own mind
with different personalities one will quickly find
As proud as proud could be
This mother took pictures for all to see
His toddler hair went from light to brown
Blond has always been on her crown
His eyes changed from a blue to a brown hue
While her eyes remained a sparkling blue
Life was not as hard as you would think
They grew up in a matter of a blink
Her once little ones are no longer small
The boy runs fast and the girl plays ball
The boy is as spirited as one can be
The girl’s good nature is her key
He likes to lead
She thrives to succeed
With college hunting around the corner
This mother became more of a mourner
The mother wonders what they will be
Once they are off and set free
She can’t help but worry and stress
that the may not be a huge success
She calls out to God in her time of despair
She recalls how deep He really does care
He reaffirms, “There’s no need to distress
With their trust in me, they’ll be a success.”
With those words in her mind
A restful sleep she did find.
robinsnest212 - stories by design 
Leave a Reply