To the 4-Year-Old Who Made Us Parents

4 years and 9 months ago, two tiny pink lines altered our lives forever. As a 23 year old newlywed with zero interest in small children, exhilaration wasn’t my first response. Hyperventilation, a blood test confirmation at LabCorp, and a panicked call to my best friend followed by a literal Googling of “how to be pregnant”…these were my first responses. 4 years and 9 months ago, I had absolutely no idea what was in store for our family. I had no idea what parenting was or how hard and joyous it would be. How infuriating and rewarding. How scary and overwhelmingly beautiful. But then came August 22, 2011. And I looked…