Over dessert last Thanksgiving, my sister announced she was pregnant with her second child. Of course I knew she was pregnant the minute I walked in the door; she had that puffy preggie look. And she was MAD (!!!) when she thought I was gonna spill the beans...but anyways, that's a different story. From that time forward we knew it was likely that she would have a repeat c-section, and then it was time to wait out the nine months.
Fast forward to July. Time to make plans, because that C-section seemed more and more like a reality. It was Renee's wish that I be in the hospital when the baby was born, and dammit, I was going to do that for her, even at the expense of my own sanity! The week finally arrived, and unfortunatley for me, I was working on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday in the a.m. After a lot of thought and planning, at the last minute I decided to get up at 4 am, shower and get pretty for the pictures. Then I'd wake the kids up, put them in the van and drive to my in-laws house. They would babysit the girls while I was at the hospital. The perfect plan.
The morning arrived, the alarm went off, and I was out of bed in a flash. Honestly, I wasn't sleeping so great anyways. I did everything I needed to, got the girls up and in the van. Perfecto! What this crazy morning needed was a little Starbucks Carmel Latte. As I headed over to Bucks, Nora pipped up in the backseat. "Mommy...you know, sometimes when I wake up in the morning I have to go pee".
Huh?? What the...oh. My perfect plan had a major flaw. I asked, "Nora, do you have to go potty now?". Need I tell you the answer? Thank goodness the Starbucks lobby is open at 5:45 am, because that's about the time we busted through the front door, Nora in her jammies, clinging to her "B". Sue, the manager, looked at us and said, "My aren't we up early!" As we made a beeline for the restrooms, I called over my shoulder, "I have another kid sleeping in the car. I'll order my coffee in the drive thru!" Because that is where I left Emmy, in her car seat, half asleep half awake. Nora needed to be fast before the cops saw her out there all by herself, screaming.
Nora was not fast. In fact, Nora got stage fright. I had to sit down and demonstrate, and this wasn't easy since I hadn't had my coffee yet! After what seemed like an eternity, Nora finally peed. I washed her hands and we flew back to the van, to find a grumpy and fully awake Emily. Well, it could have been worse. Went through the drive, got my delicious drink, and headed down I-88 towards the city. The sun was shining bright as it peaked over the horizon. Just stunning. And what a sunrise! I remembered watching the sun rise on the morning Nora was born as Ryan drove me to the hospital in my old Ford Escort, and my eyes welled up with tears. A new baby! Baby Cousin! Who wouldn't be stunned by the miracle that is life on this planet?
As I got all emotional, I heard a complaint from the backseat. "Mom?? Hey mom, the sun is in my eyes. Can you move it?" Nora completely stunned me out of my musing. "Nora, did you just ask me to move the sun?" "Yes Mom". Well, I guess I wasn't the only one with miracles on the brain! I laughed, but not enough to hurt her feelings, and explained that actually the sun stays in one spot and it can't be moved. Eventually we would move out of its way. She didn't like that answer, so I told her to put the "B" on her head. She complied. She grumped a little. I kept driving. Had to get the hospital to see the next miracle!
I made it to my in-laws by 7 am, dropped the kids off, and headed to the hospital. I stood by the doors of the O.R. waiting for my brother in law Brian to hold up the pink or the blue sign. He appeared with the blue post-it note announcing a bouncing baby boy. Welcome Alexander Ryan Bridgeman!!! Xander is named for my father, Michael Alexander, and Brian's best friend Ryan Palesh (also known as the person I sat next to in geometry class back in sophomore year). God and Buddha bless you little Xander. And please excuse Nora, who upon finding out her new baby cousin was a boy, stated, "A boy! I didn't want a boy!! I like girls!".
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