I Hate to be Late Especially for a Birth Date

I hate to be late... It's a huge pet peeve of mine. On a typical work day, I arrive 30 minutes early. If I'm on time for something, then I feel late and can be terribly fussy with whomever has made me "on time". So, when the doctor told me my due date for my first child was June 15th, I believed it was June 15th. He may have looked at that as an estimate, I looked at it as set in stone. On June 14th the nursery was completely finished, clothes folded and in the drawers, Nana and Papa on standby and me willing and ready to get the show on the road. Since I hadn't even had one contraction, my husband and I took a long walk downtown to spur things along. As he waddled me back home, I had to sit and rest on the curb before continuing.  I stubbornly refused a ride from a friend because..... well, because I was stubborn. When I woke up on June 15th I was already somewhat discouraged since I felt perfectly fine and by noon I was getting terribly concerned. If the birthing instructor was correct, and I was in labor 12 hours or more, than that would be pushing the baby's birth closer to tomorrow than today...  In my books that was late and I was not a happy camper. When my husband left to go back to work, he gave me a hug and told me not to worry and then bent toward my belly to offer a stern warning to it's occupant that things would go much smoother if everyone was on time. He headed back to work and I headed to my Mother-In-Law's house to wash laundry since our washer was on the blink. When I returned home from her house I felt a twinge in my mid-section and literally remember saying to myself.... "I wonder if that is what labor feels like." I thought to myself.... "after General Hospital goes off, if I'm still aching, I'll call my Mother-in-Law to describe the ache and see what she thinks." That was a funny phone call! Talk about getting someone who is usually very calm and subdued riled up about something, that phone call did the trick. She instructed me to hang tight she was on her way. I calmly called my husband and my parents to let them know that although I wasn't that hopeful, I would go ahead and let her take me to the hospital just to be sure. When Virginia, who is probably 5'4" and 98 pounds soaking wet comes to the house, she is a little ball of fire. I have never, nor did I ever again see her in such a state of excitement. She refused to allow me to even carry my own pillow and guided and pushed me into the car like we were fleeing an alien invasion. When we got to the hospital she ran around and opened my door, jerked my pillow out of my arms and started issuing instructions. This is one of those moments where you would just have to have known her and how quiet she was to truly understand how hysterically funny it was to see her this way. We got to the hospital at 5:00, which by my standards was WAY behind schedule. My husband arrived and we settled in for what we expected to be a long process...... Wrong! My first child was just as keen on promptness as her Momma. After a mere 3 hours of labor, my daughter fought her way into the bright lights and steel surroundings of the delivery room. She entered this world with plenty of expression and like her Momma never hesitates to speak her mind or prove her point. I'll never forget seeing her Daddy lean over the bassinet they placed her in. Her flailing hands found his finger and a sudden hush fell over her as he began to sing the ABC song just as he had done every night. Her round little face, red from all the squalling, quieted as her eyes searched frantically for the voice she knew.

Today those little hands grip the barrel of a M240 as she sails into foreign ports on the destroyer she proudly serves on.  Today those little eyes search the horizon for anything that would threaten the security of the land that she loves. Still today her ability to express herself has come in handy as she copes with being a woman in a very male environment. Happy Birthday Sissy!!! I know you love to hear your birth story on your birthday, but since you are away this year I put it here for you to see when you return home. June 15th, the day we welcomed you into our world and one of the happiest days of my life. Love you tons and bunches..... Momma