Monday, August 18, 2008

21 Years Ago...

My friend Mary Ann and The Quiet Husband and I were wandering up and down, up and down the hallway of one St. Luke's Hospital. We had spent all of the previous day there, to no avail. After a fitful night of sleep at home, complications had made themselves dramatically manifest again, and so there we were. Walk walk walk. Groan groan groan. One contraction hard upon another, doing . . .nothing. Please please please. Not another c-section.

FOUR other women came into the hospital, fussed and yelled, and produced babies. We passed their rooms over and over again, hearing the sounds that indicated that at least some people up there were reaching their goals.

4:00 in the afternoon? It would be ten more hours before I would cry, "I can't I can't I can't" and grit my teeth and grind my heel into my doctor's knee and call to him from somewhere far, far away, "Joe, HELP me!" Before he would say, "PUSH. THE. BABY. OUT." Before The Lovely Daughter, with limpid blue eyes wide as they could be, would be placed gently on my belly and look at us as if to say, "I know who you are, too."

8 comments:

Diane M. Roth said...

what a reflection. thank you for sharing.

Sarah S-D said...

i'm devouring birth stories these days. thanks for this. and happy birthday l.d.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday to the LD. What a beautiful memory--told with 21 years in the rearview mirror.

Lisa :-] said...

Happy Birthday to the Lovely Daughter. Beautiful writing, Robin. :-]

emmapeelDallas said...

Oh, Melanie was right...the days babies are born are the happiest of days...

Law+Gospel said...

This was wonderful. I too have an August daughter, and am approaching the September child. Blessings and Happy Birthday to LD.

Jan said...

Thank you for this. Lovely Daughter indeed.

Sounds like my fourth and last child, who is leaving home in three days.

Terri said...

Happy Birthday LD (and mom who gave birth)...my daughter will be 20 in ten days...