Whoa, I was all busy writing a post entitled "Collective Psychosis" with an accompanying picture when I stopped dead in my tracks. What? What? I should NOT write that post today, my faithful readers will get that one tomorrow, I'm sure you can hardly wait, especially with that title!
Wny did I stop? Because it's Naomi's birthday today! Or rather Naomi entered our family twenty years ago today. Or I gave birth to Naomi in Dec 1989. My baby, 20 years old, that's CRAZY. My children entered my family by birth and by adoption and it's all good. However, giving birth to a child is certainly a special event for the mother. And so it was.
Leaving out the gory details (and there were many in this crazy pregnancy, I just shake my head and say 'don't try it this way')....Naomi Ruth Barnes was born Dec 16 1989 at around 7am at Virgina Mason Hospital. 3 weeks early. Tiny, less than 5 pounds. This picture was a polaroid taken Christmas Day of me and Naomi. 8 days old. I'm sure she had not hit 5 lbs yet.
I spent about 5 days in the hospital. Myself, I thought they should give you an extra day in the hospital for every kid you had at home. But they don't. I remember some carolers came by. Every bed in the ward was full. "Wow, what's going on here with all of these babies", exclaimed one caroler. Then he shrugged "Oh well, tis the season".
I may have told this story before. Dennis and his dad decided to partition our big rec room downstairs and separate the space into an office and an extra bedroom. My mother had visited a few months before the birth. She became alarmed at the lack of progress in the construction project. I had already been married 13 years.."Don't worry", I said "this might not be getting done on the previous style schedule that you would like. But I have no doubt that, when I come home from the hospital, that room will be ready". Besides, it does no good at all to go nuts about it.
Sure enough, when I came home, everything was ready. Except I couldn't find my baby stuff which was still packed away. Dennis' folks Jim and Lanaya were here and I do believe they pulled an all nighter on this one. Remember this baby was 3 weeks early. Everything was painted and set up however all of the adults were exhausted. Not so great as I came home with this tiny baby. AND I ALREADY HAD 3 KIDS AGES 3-7.
Again, don't try this yourself.
No wonder I can't remember a single thing about the 1980s. I know that parents are overwhelmed with their first new baby. A ton of work, they take over your life. But, my thoughts were, at the time, taking care of this baby is a snap, it's everybody else that I can't handle.
But it all worked out. Naomi mourns that, being the 4th child, nobody remembers a thing. When she walked, her first word, etc etc. Who could pick it out in the din. Not so many pictures. You're the afterthought. I spent years, whenever we went anywhere counting "1,2,3,FOUR" I would say over and over making sure we hadn't left anybody behind.
Even know, 20 years later, whenever I hear about kindergarten signup, I imme=diatley stop myself "waida minute, think, think, are you supposed to be signing up anybody for kindergarten". And Naomi's now a freshman at Washington State University. I sent her a card from the cats by postal mail. She'll be home on Friday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAOMI!
Naomi last June at her high school graduation.....
No comments:
Post a Comment