When we learned that Mary was pregnant, we signed up for Lamaze training (a natural birth method). Two things I remember most about Lamaze: (1) “They are not labor pains, they are simply contractions; and by controlled breathing you can control the contractions.” (2) Our instructor informed us one night that her house was haunted, which they didn’t mind. The only issue was the ghost was afraid of the Christmas tree!
We decided to name all our children with names that signified what we were trusting the Lord to do in them. We chose Anne Katherine for our first one: “pure and full of grace, mercy and prayer.” We were informed numerous times that our chosen name was backwards and just wouldn’t work, “Everyone knows that it should be Katherine Anne.” We seemed to be the only ones who did not know this! But for us, her name was Anne. Katherine was her middle name. And it was to be Anne, not Ann. They just sound different to me.
We prepared for the momentous event: the nursery was decorated, diapers were bought, Pampers were bought for the first little bit. We were ready!
I recall two sad instances while we awaited her arrival. The first, I made Mary cry when I got a little frustrated and said, “I hope when this baby is born we can talk about something other than the baby!” The second, while Mary was still struggling with morning sickness, we were sitting outside, enjoying the evening, and she asked, “How many children do you think you want?” I replied, “I don’t know, five?” She got up and went inside!
Anne’s due date was December 11. That Monday came and Anne did not. Nor the 12th, or 13th, or 14th. A whole week passed and no baby. I had a final exam on Monday the 18th and Mary went up to the school with me. While I took my test, Mary had it out with the Lord. She spent the entire time walking around the football field. Actually, in her own words, she was “stomping” around the football field! That night she went into labor.
I woke up around 5:30 and found Mary in full labor. She had been up most of the night and had made the classic mistake of not waking me. And when I woke up, I was not able to help her get in control of her contractions. This was not setting up too well. We called the doctor and he said it was indeed time to go to the hospital.
This is shortly before 7 AM in Memphis, TN and the hospital is downtown. We safely arrived at the hospital around 7:20 only to see a fire-truck parked outside the Emergency Entrance. Somehow a laundry chute was on fire! Great. But we made it in and got her admitted.
The doctor came in and almost immediately announced he would have to do a Caesarian section. This was news to us! We learned later that this was a common practice for him. That rascal knew all along that he was going to do a Caesarian…
Anne was delivered that morning. And a beautiful baby she was! I can still remember holding her that morning. When the overhead lights were on, she would squint her eyes shut, but when they were turned off, her eyes would pop open and she would look around. Amazing!
In those days you stayed in the hospital a few days after giving birth and add a day or two for a C-section. One day Mary called me and was frantic, “They have the medicine to dry me up at the desk!” Her intention was to breast feed, but you can’t do that when they dry up your milk. So I ran up to the hospital to stop that!
Then the day came to bring the baby home. We loaded everyone and everything in the car and came home. We brought her into the apartment and placed her in her bassinet in her own room. We both looked down at her and said aloud, “What do we do now?” We must have figured something out! One thing I can recall is the doctor or someone telling us to feed her every four hours. But from the beginning we determined we were not going to wake her up in the middle of the night to nurse her.
My heart was full of love for my baby girl! So much so that the thought of having another child was deeply troubling, “How will I have any love left for another one?” I learned a tremendous lesson about love when we did have another child, and a third and fourth – Love is not a quantifiable ‘thing’. It’s not something that has to be divided or shared, so that one gets more and another gets cheated. I can love my first born with all my heart. And my second and third and fourth born too! And even as I love each daughter with all my heart, yet it is still a specific love.
Anne grew up to become a beautiful young woman. And now she has a family of her own. And her first born, another girl, doubles as my first born grandchild! Anne is an amazing woman, wife and mother.
I have truly been blessed: I have Anne (and her sisters) as my daughter(s). But I admit, it’s not a fair or equal blessing, I get Anne but she gets me! So pray for her (and her sisters)!!
Happy Birthday, Anne!
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