I thought I had 36 hours of waiting. Sam, in his usual decisive way, shortened the wait.
My son was born with an opinion. I don't mean that he was willful or challenging. He was THE most compliant, sweet, loving, sensitive toddler and little boy I have ever known. He just always knew what he wanted and could express it well. If I asked him which lullaby tape to put on at bedtime, he immediately told me which out of about 25 he wanted. What kind of cookies should we bake together today? Which (of about 35) Thomas the Tank engines are you gonna put on the track today? Always an instant answer. He has always known what he desires, dislikes, and needs.
And he wanted to decide his own birth date.
He apparently felt that a Tuesday the 5th was more to his taste than a Wednesday the 6th.
At 3:00 AM on the morning of the 5th, my water broke and it quickly became the beginning of the end of waiting.
Back labor is something they don't teach you about. There are no stomach contractions to "breathe through." It is just constant back pain. I thought Dick's arms would fall off from all the pushing and massaging of my back that he did for all those hours.
For a first baby, my labor was not long. At 11:21 that morning, our 5 lb 12.5 oz baby boy took his first breath and we stepped into parenting.
Nothing can prepare you.
Nothing.
There was no love we could equate with the love we felt for this tiny human. It was beyond any explanation anyone could have tried to impart to us. There were no words in the English language that could express the fierce, overpowering love we felt for this gift from God.
There still aren't.
Today at 11:21, Sam turns 22. He is still all that he was then----- sensitive, self-aware, loving-----and so much more. He is a young man of integrity and hard work. He loves the Lord. He is smart and funny and generous.
Most importantly, 22 years later, the three of us are still woven into a family fabric that cannot fray.
We were only given one child. God gave us, on that cold and snowy election Tuesday, more than we could ever have asked.
Happy birthday, Sam! You bring us as much joy today as you did 22 years ago and every day in between.
We love you to the moon and back!!
2 comments:
What a precious memory, thank you so much for sharing it! Reminds me of the story I tell Tristan about the day he was born. They really do bring more joy than anyone's imagination could fathom.
Love you!
I made it halfway through this post the other day and then some thing or another called me away.
I love this post, and I love you, and Sam, and Dick!
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