I love July 1st in the summertime. It is Canada Day, Jimmy’s birthday and my daughter’s birthday. When she was little she always referred to it as “July 1st in the summertime.” So, the day she was born 20 years ago, I woke up and figured, “yeah, this could be it.”
She was actually due on Bastille Day. Rather than waiting around, we all went strawberry picking that morning with her “Evelyn Gramma” and her big brother “Guy Guy” (her babyhood names for them). We always called Anthony the “little guy” when he was younger. He was 5 when she was born.
I was scheduled for my evening shift that afternoon, 3P to 11P. I was a unit secretary in a trauma unit in Burlington, Vermont. It was a Saturday and sometimes weekends could be quiet. I went to work and as my contractions were increasing, I popped upstairs to L & D on my dinner break. My nurse-midwife, Linda, was on call that night,checked me out, and said “yep, you’ll probably have your baby by the morning.” This was around 5:30P. It ended up being one of those quiet Saturday evenings when the work is done early, and it’s pretty laid back around the nurse’s station.
Around 7:30P, I went to the bathroom, and my water broke, soaking my ankle socks and the floor. Rita, our housekeeper mopped up after me as Lorraine, our nurse’s aide wheeled me off the unit in a wheelchair, straight up to L & D. The nurse manager, who was there for Molly’s birth was quite impressed and asked if I’d be interested in working on L & D when I returned from my leave? We were all getting quite the chuckle out the whole scene.
By the time I had arrived on the unit I was 9 CM dilated so things were happening fast. Jacqueline and Anthony arrived before Jason did. My twenty-something sister was Anthony’s support person, but at one point I looked over at her, and it looked like Anthony was doing the supporting. She looked like she was ready to pass out. Jason arrived a bit toasted (celebrating beforehand I suppose) about 15 minutes before Molly was born at 8:48PM. All 6 pounds 9 ounces of a wee baby girl whom I was not expecting — for some reason I just figured I’d have another boy.
But, nope, I had the baby sister her brother had wished for just the day before. Only I didn’t name her Mary Anthony like he had asked, but rather Molly Rose. Here she is today with her friend Brian on their way to Provincetown.
(No birth pictures — they didn’t turn out except for the couple her brother took with his little Kodak 110 Instamatic. I was devastated when the film came back undeveloped from our camera. It was a 35MM and the film hadn’t engaged, so we basically shot a blank roll. However, the adorable little guy in Mickey Mouse scrubs, and the just born baby girl are treasured visions I hope to always remember).
