I was 20 years old on February 25, 1999. The night before I had made a huge tent from the bunk beds to the book shelf in my little brothers bedroom. We played under it as if we were camping in a rain storm. I pretended to be rescuing Daren and Dougie like we were on a ship away in the stormy sea. We got to laughing so loud that Dad had to yell at us to be quiet from the living room. Daren was 6 and Dougie was 4 years old. I simply loved playing with them, I had such an imagination to describe a whole other life as they would listened, then joining in the fun too. That night was full of laughter, of books and songs. I stayed with them among the big couch pillows and fuzzy blankets. Under our crazy made up tent, Dad took one look at it then rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall away from our giggling. Mom was acting a bit crazy, a bit forgetful. I was to busy playing with the boys all night to even notice her. That early morning the phone was ringing as I woke up with a small foot in my face, the boys just fell a sleep where they had been playing and I had covered them up just as they were. "Why isn't Mom answering the phone? It's right by her side of the bed?" I asked myself as I grabbed the noisy thing in the kitchen, before I said anything I saw Dad's work pick up still in the drive way "How Odd? he is always gone by 6am" My Grandma Norma's voice asked before I was awake, "WELLLLL.....I have been waiting for 3 hours now and no one has called me." I chuckled at her thinking it was bewildering to me that Grandma got up every morning at 4am like it was the norm to start the day at that time. It was about 7:30am I noticed in my fuzzy sleepy mind, I replied "Let me get Mom then..." I had no idea what she was saying and I called out across the house "Mom! Grandma wants to talk to you!" Grandma was giggling at this as she said "YOU SILLY! Your Mom is having her baby right now!" I was shocked awake and alarmed "WHAT! NO ONE TOLD ME!" I exclaimed back, Grandma was still laughing now as if she thought it was the cutest thing, my brother Derek stuck his head out of his bedroom and said he was going to tell me but he have fallen sleep again. "We have a baby brother Davey, he was actually born IN THE CAR on the way there." He laughed at my shocked face and then he went back to bed. I exclaimed to Grandma over the phone what I just learned from Derek. Grandma sighed with relief and she sounded happy "Well I am glad everything went good, even if he was born on the highway." She was giggling again and I replied "Why didn't anyone tell me?! They usually always wake me up so I can watch the house!?" Grandma asked where my other brothers were and I realized that my parents already knew I was asleep with them so they were safe. Grandma voice was thoughtful "Do you think this is the last one? What is his name again, Davis?" I sighed back into the phone wondering that same question "Are they done with having more kids? OR will Mom keep trying until she gets a girl?" Grandma's voice on the other line brought me back to the present. It was as if she could read my mind "I know your mom wanted a girl so much! That is to bad, well at least he will be well dressed by all the clothes his brothers will pass down." She sounded truly happy and I agreed with a laugh of my own. As I hung up the phone in that cold gray February morning I slid to the floor right there where I had been standing and sobbed. Maybe I felt the sudden relief that Davey was not a sister, or maybe my new baby brother was being born into such a time as this? Dana was long gone and I wasn't sure I could wait around another 18 years to help raise him. What will he do for college? How will he grow up with such old parents? Were we ready to give him a good quality of life?
As I picked myself up off the floor I made a big pancake breakfast to cheer myself up, also for my little brothers to wake up with the yummy smells of bacon cooking, I was excited again at the idea of a 3rd little brother joining us, as Daren and Dougie climbed up on stools watching me cook with their messy bed heads and big happy smiles. I began to laugh as I thought of the crazy way our lives had changed.
Mom was nursing Davey as she told her own mother how startled she was when she knew they were not going to make it to the birthing center after all. It was a half hour drive on the dark back country roads and when Mom demanded that Dad had to pull over he said "I AM TO OLD FOR THIS!" So in the back seat of their car Davey came into the world surrounded by that cold winter's chill. He remained connected to my mom all the way to the center then Mom had to warn the nurse who came to grab the new born that he was still attached. Everyone was amazed that nothing went wrong out on that highway! Mom turned to me saying "No one needs to know how he was born!" I stood there startled for I had already told everyone I knew about the crazy birthing story in the back seat and how I thought of the pure panic my poor father must have gone through! I saw it as a miracle story, I knew as they visited my church that following Sunday to show Davey off to some friends that the story had already become a legend. Mom was of course very mad at me but it was from before she told me NOT to tell anyone, the story was very popular. And I didn't understand why it was such a secret, Maybe my mom thought she had plenty of time to wait before Davey was born, so she felt foolish getting stuck on the dark highway? I saw it for the amazing power of birth and the triumph her and dad had to live through. I was extremely relieved when Dad said they were NOT having any more babies and Mom actually agreed! Davey was the perfect ending to my sibling line and I know he is the kind of kid who likes to make such a grand entrance:-)
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