I am actually DOING something today - and it is not about me at all! Today is my daughter's 54th birthday (when did she get so old?)! My granddaughter asked me the other night if I'd like to join them - she's treating her mother to a manicure and pedicure, and lunch today. I get to tag along. YAY! I am going to tag along for sure! So looking forward to a fun day. Have I ever shared this day 54 years ago? I believe I have on both the boys... but my daughter? Not so sure. So perhaps, for history sake, I will share it now. After all, the mind goes a bit as I age.
I lived with my mother-in-law and father-in-law as my husband was in the Army. He had gotten drafted 5 months after we were married....and before I found out I was pregnant. He left in May, and I found out in June we were to have a baby. It was the 'gift' he left me. But, on to that morning.....
This child was due on December 29th..... and in spite of the castor oil and orange juice I drank that weekend (cause my brother in law was home from college and wanted me to have the baby then) (took me years before I could drink orange juice again without the feeling of oil going down my throat) (oh - it didn't work for the baby, but I did get the runs), the time went by until it was the morning of January 21st.
About 4AM that morning I awoke with a bad back ache. Never having a child before, I had no clue what to expect. I mean, I was really naive. REALLY naive. I finally got up around 6AM and headed to the kitchen where my mother-in-law was. She asked why I was up early, and I told her I had a bad backache. SHE suspected what was going on, but I still did not connect the dots. Like I said, REALLY naive. Mom and I sat down and started playing Uno, a card game we frequently played. Lots of pressure started happening in my belly and I shared that with mom, who was asking me questions. About 8:30AM I was starting to feel zaps of pain. She suggested we call the doctor, which I did. Since I was 3 weeks late, he told me to go on to the hospital and he would meet me there. Now mind you, whenever I had begged him to help me have the baby earlier, he would always say...."When the apple is ready, it will fall."
I made it to the hospital and they put me in a bed. This is where it gets somewhat vague. They put an IV in my hand and just checked on me periodically. But the thing is..... the IV put me to sleep. The nurses would wake me up periodically, and ask "are you feeling any pain?" and I would (probably) go 'yeah yeah' and go back to sleep. I do not remember much of anything during that time as I was knocked out most of the time. I remember at one point the nurses saying the baby was coming so they wheeled me into the delivery room. They knocked me totally out! Mom couldn't come in with me so watched from the window. I woke up later in my room. Back then the babies were kept in a nursery and the nurses would bring them to you.
Things I found out later.... the doctor had given instructions to sedate me when I was in labor. Why? Because (before ultrasounds) he didn't know if it was one or two babies (I had gained 50 pounds!) and because my husband was in the Army and at that time in VietNam, if something was wrong with the baby, they didn't want me to know until after they knew. They thought what they were doing was protecting me. I'm still confused about that as I didn't have any problems with my pregnancy - other than gaining 50 pounds!
But, I eventually saw my baby girl. I had gotten to the hospital about 9:30AM and she was born at 1:37PM I think.... and she weighed 8 pounds and 10 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. I remember that she had wide open eyes and seemed so alert. The doctor said it was because she was nearly a 10 month baby she was more alert than a normal newborn. At that period of time, women were kept in the hospital a long time after giving birth. I went in on a Tuesday... and I had to beg to go home on Sunday so that my brother-in-law, who came home from college to see her, could hold her before he went back. So there you have it. My husband received a telegram (I think) announcing the birth. He still never saw her for the first time until January, 1970, just before her first birthday. He had spent 14 months in VietNam so that he could get out a little early.
Memories come and go - but today I will celebrate with my daughter the anniversary of her birth. Where does the time go?
Psalm 139:13-18 (NIV): "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand - when I awake, I am still with you."
Each day, each year, is a celebration of life - whether it is for my daughter, my boys, hubby, or even for myself. (and that includes the grands and greats too!) Take a moment and celebrate today... it may be just another day to you - but I urge you, Celebrate today, because you are celebrating being alive. Celebrate those you love. Take your spouse out for a meal. Go for a walk together.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV) "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."
So many times life comes against us, it feels. Spouses get angry at us. We do something really stupid and we don't see our way out of it. Life gets hard, we put ourselves in places we shouldn't be, whether physical or emotional or financial. Life.Is.Hard.
There is only One who can help us through those times, and that is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Yes, They are the great Three in One. I urge you today, choose LIFE, that you and your children may live. Choose the only ONE who can give you what you need, when you need it. Answers your prayers and sometimes even your thoughts and wishes. You are never alone when Jesus is with you.
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
Blessings!
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