I remember the night that Angelica was born.
I was feeling some contractions, but I totally didn’t believe that they were contraction because they didn’t hurt. I was expecting 8-10 hours or more of pain…..THAT was labour. Anything else was just that whole “pre-labour” stuff that the books and our class had talked about and what I was experiencing was not even sort of painful.
I was desperate to avoid going to the hospital only to be sent home saying that I had hours and HOURS of labour left to go. And so I just continued on with my afternoon and evening. My mom came over and she seemed intent on convincing me that I was in labour but regardless of the fact that she had given birth to 5 kids of her own…..she obviously didn’t understand how this worked….
Finally I got the point that the contractions were sharp enough to take my breath away and to even make my eyes tear up a bit and at that point I agreed to go to the hospital. From what I remember of our short trip down Willingdon, I fussed and complained to Jon the entire way about how they were gonna send me home and how I’d be devastated. And sure enough, when we walked into the ER the triage nurse tried to blow me off and then I had a contraction. Then she asked me a question and I had another contraction. Then she asked if I had had 2 contractions while I was having a third……then she said to forget the paperwork and to come right on up to the maternity ward. I had another one while waiting for the elevator, another one in the elevator and another one as I stepped off the elevator. The next hour is a bit of a blur. I remember pieces of it but basically, within the hour Angelica was born.
She was so cute and tiny and had this shocking black head of hair.
And that………that was the beginning.
Now, my baby is 14 and its amazing how fast the time has flown by. Yes, there are times when I felt (and feel) like the months, weeks, days, heck the minutes…..are dragging by but really….I blinked and now she’s so grown up.
I got married at 19…….that’s in 5 years. Wow! That’s almost unbelievable!
Geli woke up on her birthday and was ready the fastest she’s been in……well, in a really long time, but I think she was excited to go to school and before she could go to school she had to go and get blood drawn to see what her counts were at so that we knew whether she was going to get the next dose of chemo on Tuesday.
Jon took her to get her blood work and then dropped her off at school “on time”. Angelica pranked one of her friends by dumping a bunch of Millet Puffs into her locker for her birthday. So when her friend opened her locker, there was a giant mess of puff balls that poured out of her locker, onto the floor and her friend says that she still has little puffs in her locker.
WHAT A MESS!
I think Geli was a bit nervous and a bit excited to see how her friends were gonna get her back. Here is her locker.
It was wonderful that the way that everything worked out that #1. Geli’s counts were high enough that she could be at school, #2 that they were able to delay her Chemotherapy by one day so that she could be at school and #3 that Geli was healthy and feeling well and able to enjoy her birthday with her friends……
She even got presents at school…..fun, fun!
After school, we had a few more gifts to give to her….
Siah had chosen this little monkey key ring. If you pressed a button on his head, he would say make monkey noises and his eyes would light up….it was a lot cuter than it sounds. It sounds kinda creepy just like that.
He was so excited to give her her present. it was really cute to watch him, although I’m not sure if he really wanted to give her the monkey….he was pretty excited about it himself.
Dinner was something that Geli loves and then the rest of the evening just went smoothly. Looking back on the weekend, I was just so thankful at how everything had turned out in her favor. It was an amazing weekend and one that I’m sure she will remember as a highlight of this past year.
My Sweet Girl,
I pray this new year in your life is full of love and laughter and family and friends and especially health. I love you immeasurably and I’m so excited as I watch you growing up into a gorgeous young woman.
This past year was the hardest you’ve faced yet and yet in spite of all that you’ve gone and are going through – you are thriving. You are so brave and you are learning about how much strength you actually have.
Even though there are times that we wish we never knew how strong we actually are……we all go through tough times and we come out the other end with strength and compassion and a new level of understanding for others who are struggling or going through their own hard times. These are all amazing character traits and I proudly watch you as you embrace everything that comes to you.
Keep smiling when you are happy and crying when you are sad…..being “true and real” about what you are feeling and how you are doing is another amazing thing. Hiding or pretending doesn’t help anything.
Be true to yourself.
Laugh Hard.
Love Harder! and…..
LIVE everyday with passion.
I love you sweetheart!
Your Momma
