What I was doing a quarter century ago today but I’ll spare y’all the gory details
As it happens, the GG is at this moment telling the birthday girl all the gory details. I know y’all don’t want to know. But at 7:40 AM EDT, exactly one quarter century ago, yer fav-o-rite blahgger, not known to the world as someone who was dying to be a baby production line, had her first born. Actually, I always did want to have my own kids. When I *was* a kid, I’m sure that my vision was that I’d let *my* kids do all of the stuff that moi mommy wouldn’t let *me* do. Bwa-ha-ha…
Fast forward. I was in my late twenties, married (at 28), and “I’m gonna have kids someday” suddenly loomed large. Oh. Maybe I should do that soon? I was lucky and our first serious attempt at actually producing a child resulted in The Girl with Plutonium Eyes shown in the photo. Well. But. Er. I was scared shitless! [‘scuse my language] I didn’t know jack-doodly about babies. I had never changed a diaper! When people would shove their precious little baby into my inexperienced arms, I would nervously make what I hoped were appropriate noises and hand the little darling back ASAP!!! So, I was pregnant and I had no experience with babies and I was *30* fer kee-reist!
Yes, that all changes when you have your own. I’ll admit that it took a little while until I was accustomed to all the typical baby noises (what is she doing? is she dying?) but changing a newborn’s diaper was really a no-brainer, although one I would often fob off on the GG if I could manage to think of a good excuse to do that. And he did have plenty of experience, being number 5 out of ten with plenty of nieces and nephews. As it turned out, *my* baby was the best baby on earth. She was ultra-healthy. She was calm and happy. Unless there was a good reason not to be. She grew up into an iron butterfly, beautiful and delicate looking on the outside but don’t kid yourself, she’s filled with kryptonite.
Best baby on earth? *Every* baby is the best baby on earth! My first baby was a beautiful, bright, adorable baby girl. One who taught me, a new and *very* inexperienced mooma, more than any teacher or job I had ever had. The best baby on earth. My own baby. Love you.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:11 pm
AWWW–happy birthday to the Girl with Googly eyes! Our histories are eerily parallel. We married at 28 and 8 months after that, I took a group of students off to Europe with very mixed feelings about having children. I told my husband that we both needed to think about the issue while away from each other, so we did and decided to “go for it” thinking that nothing would probably happen. Instant pregnancy and OMG, WHAT HAVE WE DONE? But I’m sure glad we did!
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I was 30 when I had Nate, too! I’d gone through most of my 20s very adamant about NOT having kids. Then at 29, I heard that silly clock ticking. (Yes, there really IS a clock!) One was the perfect number for me, though. He was easy and cheerful and I just knew a 2nd one would NOT be.
Happy birthday to your funny-eyed girl! What a nice tribute to her.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:29 am
hippo birdie two ewe lizard
( babies run in the family around here…… )
October 24th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I’ve been having (or overhearing) conversations all week with the high school students about when or if to have babies.
— A boy who has sickle cell trait, and whether that would affect his decisions on whom to marry or if they’d have children if both had SCT.
— A girl showing a phone video of her friend’s stomach a week after having a baby. “and she talked with her stomach to me — gross!”
— Seeing a senior in the hall, way out to there pregnant, and she’s due around Christmas. I hope she does finish 2nd semester and graduate.
— Students, both boys and girls, declaring they are never going to have kids, or guessing how many kids another person will have, e.g. “I can’t wait to see you with six kids…”