Hey guys. I thought it might be fun to do a little interactive writing. Modeled on those books from the 80s, you read a bit of the story, then you get to choose what happens next. We’ll just have to vote. Weigh in on the direction you would like the story to take and check back for the next installment.

Debbie was very disappointed about the timing of this baby. She and Daniel had married the previous year during the reading days at the end of winter semester. Although she then had a full year left in school, she had hoped to be rocking a baby in the stands at graduation instead of actually walking through the ceremony very pregnantly. And to make it worse, she wasn’t even walking with Daniel; he had decided to add a second major as he thought his Spanish degree wouldn’t take him where he wanted to go and was now going to school for another year. Oh well. At least she would have a cute little baby to show off at the family reunions this summer.

“Congratulations, honey,” Daniel was very sweetly making dinner to celebrate her graduation. Her parents had taken them out for a nice lunch, but had to head back home because her younger siblings couldn’t quite be trusted a whole weekend without Mom and Dad home. That and her Mom was pretty sure Primary would crumble without her leadership.

“I feel so lost,” Debbie backed herself onto the couch in their little apartment as Daniel was finishing up in the kitchenette.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I always knew what came next, and now I don’t.”

“But the baby….”

“I KNOW the baby comes next, but when? And it is hard to really imagine that, you know? I mean for me: I have always had school. There was next semester or a summer job or a semester abroad or an internship. Now my future is just a big wide…void, or something.”

“Come on,” Daniel was really grasping at sticks here. He really wanted to understand, but his life still had that plan: another year of school, then graduate school, then a job, then retirement, then a mission or two as a couple, then a real retirement. Sprinkle the kids out along the way, but of course those didn’t interrupt his plan. “Enjoy your break from school and then the baby care will lend a lot of structure to your life. I am not going to be around much, you know, so….”

“…Oh I know—I’ll be on my own this summer.”

“Not on your own, but I think you will be pretty busy.” Daniel not only had a full class schedule, but he had also taken on a job up in Salt Lake because he said it paid better than any he could get in Provo.

Here it was the end of April and the baby wasn’t even due until June 1st. What on earth was she going to do with herself? Debbie hit all the yard sales she could in that month, but used baby stuff in good condition is at a premium in Provo, so it was basically just a chance to waste time, not actually very productive. She had a few “last” lunches with friends who were either moving on or sure they weren’t going to see her once she had a baby to care for. People kept telling her to enjoy herself, but it was awfully hard to do in her condition.

Still, when the baby came a week early, she didn’t quite feel ready. Maybe new moms never do. Daniel seemed to know exactly what to do, getting her where she needed to be and doing everything that had been suggested in their childbirth class. Debbie really admired that, because she didn’t feel she was doing anything they told her to do in that class. Oh well, at least she had the diaper changing down, since she had so many younger siblings herself.

The only thing that was expected about that day was that Debbie and Daniel Olsen had a baby girl.

Now the reader gets to choose: The Olsens have narrowed the name list down to two names. Vote below and follow up on their story in a few days.

K-ly (pronounced Kay-lee)Susan or Emma Lynn