And then there were two

Since I’ve been walking down memory lane, I think I’ll stay a little longer. It was 1974 and I had taken a year’s leave of absence from my high school teaching position for maternity reasons. A baby was coming shortly after the school year began and since I had a toddler at home, I chose to stay home that year.

My classes would be in good hands—one of my former students had finished college and was now ready to step into her teacher’s shoes for the year. She was terrific, so I felt my classes would be well cared for.

This pregnancy had been nerve wracking, not because it was difficult but because it had not been long since the birth of our son and his unexpected death eight days later. That experience created some unspoken fears in my husband and me; but, nevertheless, we were excited. As I said before, back in the day, we had no way of knowing the gender of the baby before birth, so we were eager to learn if this baby would wear pink or blue booties.

My husband was the high school golf coach that year and every time he had an out-of-town match, I had vague labor pains. On Saturday, he and his team hosted a golf tournament, conference or regional or something important. I didn’t want my toddler and I to stay home that day, so we went to the country club and walked around, just to be near people. Nothing happened.

Sunday morning, I assumed we would go to church as usual, but instead woke up early. The time had come. Just at the hour when we should have been in Sunday School, a darling little girl was born. She was so pretty (and healthy, too). There now! Two little girls completed our family (or so we thought). As we left the hospital carrying our new bundle of joy, we had no idea what the future held. Oh yes, back in the day, I carried her home in my arms in the car.

When she was a little bigger, we belted the pumpkin seat between us, and when she could sit up, we had a car seat in the middle of the front seat where it was easy to talk to her and tend to her. I guess babies are safer in the back seat facing backwards where they can’t see anyone and where the driver cannot possibly reach the dropped pacifier without swerving all over the road. If it’s progress and safer, so be it; but life used to be way less complicated, especially when there were three or four kids in that back seat.

Decades have passed and some surprises were to come before our little family was complete. I guess you might say that our family has not actually been completed yet. New chairs keep being added at the table over the years, and, to tell you the truth, I hope we need to add more chairs.

The little girl born that Sunday morning has brought us lots of smiles and a few tears; moments of great pride and Sunday night stomach aches; amazing accomplishments and some definite challenges. Psalm 144:12 says, “Our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace” and they definitely are.

I can’t help adding that Jennifer has given us two darling granddaughters. And so it begins again. . .

Happy Birthday, Jenny Jill.

♫ “Where are you going,
My little one, little one
Where are you going
My baby, my own
Turn around and you’re tiny
Turn around and you’re grown
Turn around, you’re a young wife
With babes of your own.”