Don't Blink
Well, I blinked. Just like that, he's 21, and his life is flashing before my eyes.
I remember so vividly the day we confirmed the pregnancy with the doctor. I was able to get the latest appointment of the day, so neither me nor my husband would have to leave work early. We ended up sitting in that waiting room for three hours before being called back. The doctor has some emergencies to handle, and the waiting room was full. I distinctly remember a young woman, very pregnant, walking constantly around the waiting room, with bedroom slippers on her feet. She look incredibly uncomfortable. I kept hoping that she would be called back soon.
Yes, we could have rescheduled and come back another day, but we opted to sit it out and wait. Of course, the test came back positive, and we were over the moon happy. On the way home, I called my mom (because, you know, cell phones were a relatively new thing at that time) and he called his. The next day during lunchtime at work, I walked the two blocks to Crown Books and bought a few pregnancy books. I remember the one I referred to most often was "What to Expect When You're Expecting". It gave a lot of information that other books didn't give -- side effects that people didn't generally talk about. Over the next few months, we spent time buying maternity clothes, picking out a crib and other baby necessities.
Finally, the day of the birth. I actually went into the hospital to be induced on Thursday morning, August 14. Man, talk about preconceived notions. I thought it would be epidural, Pitocin, and birth. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, there was a fairly new drug out that made labor last longer, more naturally. So, as I slept through contraction after contraction, my dear husband sat at my side. Finally, late that night, the nurses told him he should go home, which he did. Then, sometime in the middle of the night, my water broke. Back to the delivery room while a nurse called my husband to come back. Don't you know that child didn't see the light of day until 4:46pm Friday, August 15. It was an amazing day. It really doesn't seem that it happened twenty-one years ago.
So many other things flash through my mind. His first birthday party with so many family and friends. His first day of preschool -- well, every day of preschool, when I left him there crying and picked him up happily sitting on a teacher's lap while she colored for him. His preschool graduation ceremony, which we had to practice for at home because he didn't want to wear his cap and gown. Oh, the silly faces he made.
His first day of kindergarten, which he was excited for. His fifth grade end of year ceremony. His first day of sixth grade. His First Communion. His eighth grade end of year ceremony. When he applied for an STI for high school, and was accepted. All of his birthday parties throughout those years. Our two vacations to DisneyWorld. Our summers of season ticket holders for Six Flags. The road trips to family reunions and to visit my sister who lives out of state. So, so many things I could list here, but it would be a neverending list.
His high school graduation. That was a few months after my cancer diagnosis. I remember that, as I watched him walk from the stage back to his seat, the image of him as a little boy at his pre-school program kept flashing/superimposing over him. The unbelievable cake and desserts for the graduation party provided by Poppyjeans. Amazing doesn't cover it. That summer, he took over most of the cooking in the house. He taught himself well.
Since then, he has slowly transitioned to be my primary caregiver. This, as my husband's Parkinson's becomes more progressed. Last summer, he took me on an epic road trip. We drove from home (just south of DC for those of you who don't know me personally) to Fallingwater (PA) to dinner with cousins in Western Maryland, to Cincinnati to spend a few days with my aunt, to my sister's house in southern Virginia, to my other sister's house in Florida, with a detour through the Smokey Mountains. It's a trip I'll never forget.
...and just like that, he's 21 today. Don't blink....
I remember so vividly the day we confirmed the pregnancy with the doctor. I was able to get the latest appointment of the day, so neither me nor my husband would have to leave work early. We ended up sitting in that waiting room for three hours before being called back. The doctor has some emergencies to handle, and the waiting room was full. I distinctly remember a young woman, very pregnant, walking constantly around the waiting room, with bedroom slippers on her feet. She look incredibly uncomfortable. I kept hoping that she would be called back soon.
Yes, we could have rescheduled and come back another day, but we opted to sit it out and wait. Of course, the test came back positive, and we were over the moon happy. On the way home, I called my mom (because, you know, cell phones were a relatively new thing at that time) and he called his. The next day during lunchtime at work, I walked the two blocks to Crown Books and bought a few pregnancy books. I remember the one I referred to most often was "What to Expect When You're Expecting". It gave a lot of information that other books didn't give -- side effects that people didn't generally talk about. Over the next few months, we spent time buying maternity clothes, picking out a crib and other baby necessities.
Finally, the day of the birth. I actually went into the hospital to be induced on Thursday morning, August 14. Man, talk about preconceived notions. I thought it would be epidural, Pitocin, and birth. Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, there was a fairly new drug out that made labor last longer, more naturally. So, as I slept through contraction after contraction, my dear husband sat at my side. Finally, late that night, the nurses told him he should go home, which he did. Then, sometime in the middle of the night, my water broke. Back to the delivery room while a nurse called my husband to come back. Don't you know that child didn't see the light of day until 4:46pm Friday, August 15. It was an amazing day. It really doesn't seem that it happened twenty-one years ago.
So many other things flash through my mind. His first birthday party with so many family and friends. His first day of preschool -- well, every day of preschool, when I left him there crying and picked him up happily sitting on a teacher's lap while she colored for him. His preschool graduation ceremony, which we had to practice for at home because he didn't want to wear his cap and gown. Oh, the silly faces he made.
His first day of kindergarten, which he was excited for. His fifth grade end of year ceremony. His first day of sixth grade. His First Communion. His eighth grade end of year ceremony. When he applied for an STI for high school, and was accepted. All of his birthday parties throughout those years. Our two vacations to DisneyWorld. Our summers of season ticket holders for Six Flags. The road trips to family reunions and to visit my sister who lives out of state. So, so many things I could list here, but it would be a neverending list.
His high school graduation. That was a few months after my cancer diagnosis. I remember that, as I watched him walk from the stage back to his seat, the image of him as a little boy at his pre-school program kept flashing/superimposing over him. The unbelievable cake and desserts for the graduation party provided by Poppyjeans. Amazing doesn't cover it. That summer, he took over most of the cooking in the house. He taught himself well.
Since then, he has slowly transitioned to be my primary caregiver. This, as my husband's Parkinson's becomes more progressed. Last summer, he took me on an epic road trip. We drove from home (just south of DC for those of you who don't know me personally) to Fallingwater (PA) to dinner with cousins in Western Maryland, to Cincinnati to spend a few days with my aunt, to my sister's house in southern Virginia, to my other sister's house in Florida, with a detour through the Smokey Mountains. It's a trip I'll never forget.
...and just like that, he's 21 today. Don't blink....
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