.... a weird thing that writers do every now and then.
Thoughts on preparing for birth.
In 1982 when we were expecting Jeremy to join our family we were in the middle of putting a chimney in our house. It was the last week of September in Montana. We still had a week before my due date. I mean, what's the rush? The weather is cold - we have no heat in the house - what could go wrong? We just moved over to Dad and Mom Harshbarger's for a day or two while the guys worked on that.
Jeremy announced that he was on the way in the middle of the night (early morning) of October 1st. We drove to the hospital and as we were driving lazy snowflakes slanted across the darkness in front of our headlights.
I remember Ellis talked to my sister-in-law and told her my contractions were 4 - 5 minutes apart. She later mentioned to me that she couldn't understand why we rushed off to the hospital if my contractions were 45 minutes apart.
Jeremy Ellis arrived later that afternoon. Before I came home - after two or three days of lollygagging in the hospital - the chimney was in and the furnace up and running. We moved to Minnesota when Jeremy was about five months old.
In 1987 the guys at church were in the middle of building a new church/school near Blooming Prairie, Minnesota. Instead of prayer meeting September 2nd we had a work evening. The women gathered in Frieda Yoder's dining room and worked on sewing projects. The guys were getting an area ready for school. One bathroom was being finished and the front entrance was set up to be our little (temporary) school room.
I remember we brought Jeremy's bike along and he was zipping around the driveway. I felt the familiar contractions 4 - 5 minuets apart right in the middle of hemming a baby blanket for the church nursery. We hugged Jeremy goodbye and went off to the hospital to get a baby brother or sister for him. He spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma.
Evan Jared arrived in the wee hours, September 3rd.
Life with two boys was exciting. It became even more so when a little sister joined them May 10, 1989.
Did I have freezer meals made ahead? I can't remember. I had a suitcase packed and arrangements made for my sister to come over and stay with the boys if we had to leave in the middle of the night.
May 9th was a beautiful spring day. We went on a school picnic at Todd Park. In the afternoon when we came home we briefly talked about planting the garden, but then decided to call it a day. Fortunately, we were able to wake Trenda up around midnight. We piled in the car and headed for Austin the minute she drove in our lane. Florence Deanne arrived a couple hours after we got to the hospital.
Getting a name ready is part of the process, right? I think Ellis and I spent a lot of time reading baby name books out loud to each other. Oh, the many conversations involved in naming a child. For instance, why did we name Deanne - Florence Deanne - instead of Deanne Florence? We wanted her to have her Grandma's name, but also have her own name. We thought Florence Deanne flowed better than the other way around.
We looked for names that were unique but not too far off the wall. Ellis overheard a news reporter asking the nurse, "When's the last time you had a Florence here?" And he could almost see the eyes rolling when the nurse replied, "It's been forever!"
The reporter was doing an article on Mother's Day and talking to the nurse on duty. Since Deanne was the only baby in the nursery at that moment she got her picture in the paper. Held by the nurse who thought, "This baby has an old-fashioned name, poor darling!"
Jorgan Thayne has to spend his life explaining his name to strangers. When they first hear the name almost invariably the first thing they say is, "Jordan?"
I started saying, "It rhymes with Morgan," when I said his name. Thayne is a variation of Thane ... an author's name. I have enjoyed reading Elswyth Thane's historical novels through the years. Her Williamsburg Novels begin with Dawn's Early Light, Yankee Stranger, Ever After and The Light Heart. She follows up with Kissing Kin, This Was Tomorrow and Homing.
That's where the name Thayne came from. Another point of interest is my sister is named Maria Layne. Ellis and I both like Layne and thought about using it for Jorgan's middle name. Then we thought, "No, better not. What if Doug and Maria want to name one of their children Layne?"
When Jorgan was just a wee baby we got the exciting news that Doug and Maria adopted a little girl born in Haiti. Her name is Jaimie Layne and her birthday is five days after Jorgan's. We have twins in the family! Jorgan Thayne, born April 10, 1994 and Jaimie Layne, born April 15, 1994.
That brings us to Krysta Dawn who arrived March 30, 1998.
I got to choose Krysta's birth date. She kept on moving around and being sideways instead of head down. The Dr. said, "Choose a day, come in and turn the baby and induce labor." I said, "How about Wednesday?" She looked at the calendar and asked, "Do you want your baby to be born on April Fool's Day?"
Maybe not.
So I chose Monday of that same week. That's how it happens that Krysta does not share a birthday with Aunt Edith, Ellis's sister, who turned 50 that year.
Wash the baby clothes. Fix the freezer meals. Prepare for child care. Clean the house, but don't go overboard with that nesting instinct and get all tired out before the big day. Take walks. You're getting ready for a marathon. Drink water. Choose the soothing music and comforting Bible verses.
I'm so happy to think about a little granddaughter coming to that busy house on 2nd Street!
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