42 years ago today, I held the sweetest baby in the whole wide world in my arms!! In the wee hours of March 12th, I became a “mama” for the first time. What a miracle birth it was!!

I was so very sick my ENTIRE pregnancy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; throwing up around the clock; could not eat or drink anything. I carried a paper bag with me everywhere I went.  Most of my time was spent hugging the toilet bowl or I was in the hospital for weeks at a time.  By the time I had given birth to you, I had lost a total of 48 lbs.  At one point, I had even began throwing up blood.

You were born while your dad was in the Army, therefore, I seldom had the same doctor twice. The one doctor said it would be much easier to just “do away” with the pregnancy so I could get back to good health… (the word abortion was never used). My reply was “absolutely not” and your dad had a few choice words…LOL   I went for my regular appointment on March 10th and it was noted that I had an extreme case of toxemia poisoning.

You were born during the “hippie age”, “flower power”, “woman’s liberation” and the “burning of the bra” –  all of this new stuff taking place in San Francisco, California. I went into labor on March 11th and since we had no car, living right there in the middle of the city, I had to take the city bus to the Presidio Hospital (which is no longer in existence).

The “women’s liberation” movement meant for me, that I had to stand the entire trip to the hospital and hang onto the overhead bar; no man would give up his seat to a woman in labor and barfing!  The bus ride took between 45-55 minutes with continuous starting and stopping, people getting on,  people getting off; and I was getting pushed and shoved and trampled on!

I was in labor 14 hours and it was at this time that the doctor informed me that you probably would not survive once the umbilical cord was cut. He explained that with the problems I had the entire 9 months and now the toxemia poisoning that was all through my body that the medical team did not hold out much hope for your survival.   But, as you can see, God had you in His care the entire time and had great plans for your life.

Of all the 19 babies that were born within the 36 hours that you were born, YOU were the healthiest of all and you certainly surprised the medical staff.  It’s so hard to believe you are 42 years old; where did the time go?   HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY,  WE LOVE YOU!

I am the first of 9 children for my parents and the one that got to “break them in” so to speak. Mom was super sick with all her “girl” pregnancies and she had six of us (three boys additionally). Over half of the 9 of us had one or two club-feet. My feet were two of the worst requiring waist high casts and later corrective surgery.

I’m thinking that my mother deserves the birthday congratulations instead of me, don’t you think? 🙂