Birthdays (Mary Lynn)

Tomorrow is Liam's first birthday, while the fifth was my 38th. Finances are tight, but if wishes were fishes I'd have his portrait taken tomorrow. Yes, my son has me wrapped around his fingers, and every time I look at him I count myself as utterly blessed. He's a healthy, happy boy full of curiosity and creative problem-solving, and if he only knew how much hearing him say "mama" gets to me, I'd be doomed.

I can't help but remenisce about this time last year. I chuckle to think about how I had wanted to have a natural child birth, but wisely chose to fill out the paperwork for an epidural just in case. Boy, howdy, did contractions convince me that I wanted a pain reliever! At about five in the morning, after a sleepless night of finding it futile to play Soduku let alone find succor in breathing techniques, my husband drove me over to the hospital and I was happily admitted. With only being dialated 2 cm, the nurse had me walk the floor for an hour, which really meant waddling with frequent pauses when a contraction hit. When I got back, I was 4 cm and happily took the epidural they offered.

The movies I've seen were wrong. Peace prevailed in the delivery room, and while my husband was there, my mother-in-law showed up later in the morning, and my own mother later still. I dozed and was rolled over on occasion while watching the news and chatting. There wasn't a care in the world, though secretly I was scared to death because a little human being was about to come into the world, and he would be completely dependant on me...me, a woman who had never been a mother before!

By 1:10 in the afternoon, the nurse asked if I was ready to deliver. Although I was feeling pressure periodically, I looked at her and said quite honestly, "I don't know, am I?" Yes, she said to me, the pitocin had worked and I was having contractions two minutes apart (or was it three?). We got me into the position, got the room geared up, pulled in another nurse, and did about four practice pushes before the nurse said, "Okay, you can stop. You're ready to go, and I've got to get the doctor." My female OBGYN barely had time to suit up when she got into the room, because after three pushes I had my son in my arms and I was nursing him while my husband cut the umbilical cord.

Since then, even though he can get cranky, and has his days, I've found nothing but joy with my son. He's taught me (and is still teaching me) how to be a mother, and that playing with children's toys can be fun even at my age. And though may have some rough days, he always, always makes me look at the bright side, I have him...and it's amazing to be loved so unconditionally.

Car Accident (Mary Lynn)

Well, it's been an exciting 24 hours, and typing is a bear: I and my family were in a car accident on Sunday afternoon in which the only injury was a dislocated left index finger, mine.

To sum up, it was raining, the car in front of the car in front of me spun out. I thought the car in front of me was slowing down. I was wrong, it had stopped, and by the time I tried to stop it was too late. My mother-in-law's car, which I was driving, locked it's breaks and we slid into the back of the car in front of us. The only had a slightly bent bumper, but our hood looked like it tried to wrap itself around it. My husaband was in the passanger's seat, my mother-in-law behind him, and my 11-month-old son was in his car seat behind me; all of us were wearing our seat belts. The dislocated finger happened when the air bag deployed, I think. I remember how horrible it looked, bent in the wrong direction, and how I couldn't bend it. Something in the back of my mind told me to straighten it out (probably the shock) and since I didn't feel any pain, I just gave it a tug and popped it back into place. The arriving police officer didn't have any ice packs, so I wrapped my finger in one of Liam's (my son) little was cloths and dowsed it in Sprite Zero, the only thing I had that was cold.

No less than five other accidents were on that stretch of highway, so it wasn't surprizing to see an ambulance drive past us and not stop. There was one accident far ahead we couldn't see, and two within a mile or two behind us that we could, or at least we could see the flashing lights.

The Black Jack fire department showed up and checked on everyone. I told them about my finger, and asked if they had an ice pack (I had some from my surgery last Monday, but they were at home). Indeed they had one, and I was asked if I needed an ambulance or if I wanted to make my way to an emergency room on my own. I said no, I didn't need an ambulance for a finger, especially since other folks might need it who are worse than me. In fact, an amulance did come, but it was for the two folks that were in the car that spun out; both of them looked okay, but one was feeling ill, and I think the other was badly rattled.

Liam was wondful though all of this. He howled when the accident happened, but very quickly calmed down, and he didn't shed a tear. He seemed to enjoy just watching, and even chatted at a distance with one of the firemen who was directing traffic over. My son spoils me, he really does. He was in great spirits, and was calm, thought it may be a reflection on all of us; we're not the sort that really freaks out, though I did have a bout of crying because it was my mother-in-law's car, and we're all already in a financial pinch, so the loss of a car doesn't help.

So, the car is in the shop, and the insurance folks have been contacted, we're just waiting to hear if the adjuster wants to have the car fixed, or "total" it and write it off.