Saturday, August 04, 2007

Happy birthday!

Today is my colleague Graham Cawthon's birthday. My husband, Stephen, will also be celebrating this weekend - he turns to big 3-0 Monday.
Until I became a mother, my birthday was all about me. I never really thought about what it meant to my own mother. If not for her, I wouldn't be here at all.
January 20 was cold the year I was born. It was snowing and my mom - who had toxemia (preeclampsia) - was induced. Her blood pressure was so high it's a miracle I'm even here. Suddenly, Jan. 20 wasn't just another day - it turned into the day her first child was born.
May 21 is the same for me. Nathan was due May 28, but decided to try and make his way into the world a bit early. My water broke May 20 and I labored the afternoon into the next morning, when at 8 a.m. my OB decided a C-section was in my best interest.
Just like my mom, I'm going to make a big deal out of Nathan's birthday, and it will be his day. But in the back of my mind now I'm not only going to think about Nathan and how wonderful it is to have him every May 21 (and every second of every day, for that matter), but I'm also going to send a silent thought to my own mother - she gave me the most precious gift ever: my life and a chance to create another life.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Allison,
Thoroughly enjoyed your blog. My baby is 32 and I still feel the same way. I thank her every year on her birthday for choosing me to be her mom. And I fortunately had one chance before my own mom passed to call her on my birthday to thank her for having me.
The sweetness of your own baby never fades with time.
I remember my own mother and I having several heated arguments when Rebekah (my baby) was an infant. I talked to her all the time and read to her when she was probably a month old. My mom would get all over my case about wasting my breath talking to a baby. One day I caught her up short and asked her: "Mom, how will I know which day it is that she will begin to understand me?" That was the end of that issue. And I have never regretted one moment of that decision. As you are learning, our little ones are like large sponges and absborb everything.
Regards,
Maureen

Allison Flynn said...

Thanks, Maureen. Nathan really is a big sponge - yesterday I turned my back for a second and he said "Mama" to get my attention. He's also trying to mimic me. I talked to him all the time even when he was little.
My mom said you never stop thinking of your child as your baby and I believe that is true.

Allison Flynn said...

Thanks, Maureen. Nathan really is a big sponge - yesterday I turned my back for a second and he said "Mama" to get my attention. He's also trying to mimic me. I talked to him all the time even when he was little.
My mom said you never stop thinking of your child as your baby and I believe that is true.