I can hardly say “I can’t believe my Jack is 8 tomorrow”, he
has been counting down the days for months now.
Anyone who knows him knows that his birthday is near, he has made sure
of it. I can say that for the last 8
years, this firecracker has hijacked my heart and taken it for an incredible
adventure.
One of the favorite traditions that I have created with my
children falls on their birthdays. A few
years ago, I started telling them the story of their birth on each birthday morning. Of my three, Jack has taken to this the
most. So, in honor of his birth, I will
share it here today.
Jack:
You have always had ants in your pants. Three months before you were supposed to be
born, you decided that you just couldn’t wait.
You were ready to be born ahead of schedule. So, you landed the both of in the hospital
for one month. We spent a lot of time
alone together in that room. It was
there that I learned that you would not be an Abigail but a John Robert V, our
“Jack”. Then we waited, and waited….and waited. Two and a half months later, the Doctors
didn’t try to stop your escape. So, you
exploded into the world, heart setting fire to our lives.
I knew that you would be coming before I put Amelia in her
crib to sleep on the eve of your birth.
I also knew that Daddy wouldn’t be there for your big arrival. He was across the bay in Bangor waiting to
board a submarine. So, we stayed up and
waited some more. I devoured the pages
of birthing books trying to prepare us. Areeba
kept us company, following us around with her big, concerned vizsla eyes. She too knew you were coming soon. When the sun started to rise in the early
morning we headed to the hospital with Grandma.
Amelia, still asleep, stayed behind with Aunt Maura. She had no idea that she was about to be a
big sister. It was June 20, the longest
day of the year.
When we got to the hospital, you decided that you had waited
long enough. You were born in less then
an hour. Fast and wild, and a tornado of
emotion – just like today. The first
part that I saw of you were your huge feet.
The nurse handed you to me feet first.
They were so enormous that they hung out and arched from the swaddling
blanket. I was sure they must be half
as big as you were (and that something was wrong with them). I was more sure of the love I had with
you. When I first saw your face you
looked so strange. You were sucking in
your bottom lip so much that it looked as if you had a little beak for a nose. I thought you were so strange looking. But, I didn’t care. I had just been handed my heart, swaddled and
fierce. Two months later everyone told
me that you were ” too pretty to be a boy”.
Your feet, still big, now looked
human. Your eyes were wide and
bright. Your lower lip released.
Today, while I was unpacking Jack's school work, I found a flower that he had made. On each petal he had written a quality that he loves in himself. He had written:
Sense of Humor
Athlete
Scientist
Adventurer
Loves Animals
I don't think that flower can be limited to five petals, but I think he did a pretty good job in trying.