18 Years Ago Today

This morning, I awoke early as usual -- around 5 o'clock. As usual, I used the bathroom then went downstairs to let the dog outside. Opening the door, the weather felt so nice that I decided to sit on a lawn chair in the driveway for a few minutes before Snickers wanted to go back inside.

Mmm... I love early morning when the weather is nice and all the world is quiet. Listening to the sound of birds chirping as the sky slowly lightens... No traffic or other noise... No televisions or telephones... Nothing open and all the day ahead of you to get things done. It is just so peaceful. What a perfect way to begin my first day as the mother of all adults.

Yes, today is my youngest child's 18th birthday. 18 Years ago today, my husband was getting ready to drive me to the hospital. A very high-risk pregnancy, I needed to deliver via c-section at an out-of-town hospital that was equipped to handle a neuro-surgical emergency if the need should arise. Of course, I chose the hospital near my parents and my hubby, proud new father-in-waiting, was my official driver. So it was that we headed off to the hospital in the morning of June 30th, 1994 down a winding State highway. 

As I mentioned, we were headed in the direction of my parents' house. So we knew the route well and also knew all the short-cuts. One of my honey's favorite short-cuts was along a county road that had a particular spot in it where the road had an odd-shaped bump. If a person drove over the bump in the road at a fast enough speed, the car would be airborne for a split-second. My hubby, who had never to his recollection flown in an airplane and who was a remote-controlled airplane enthusiast, particularly loved to make his car "fly" every time we drove the road to my parents' place.

Well, all that was fine and I am not beyond having a little fun. BUT the problem with making your car "fly" for a few seconds is that the car then has to CRASH down on its wheels to land. Crashing hurts! But every time we drove that awful road with the flying bump, my hero just had to accelerate over it. So help me I probably have cracks all up and down my back from multiple spinal insults. Somehow, though, I did get my honey to offer that he would take me via the smooth-driving Interstate highway when it was time to deliver the baby. So there we were, driving to the hospital along the State highway and coming up to the point where we could either proceed forward to the Interstate or turn towards the flying bump. Remember, I was 9 months pregnant and had purposely scheduled for medical reasons to have my c-section before I naturally went into labor. 

Then I heard it... TICK - TICK - TICK - TICK -- the turn signal. (No, he did not take me down that road, by the way. He was quickly reminded of his promise, which he then kept.) 

It is hard to believe that was 18 years ago when it seems like just yesterday. I took a deep breath of the morning air and blew it out. I then rose from my lawn chair, called Snickers and headed in my pajamas back to the door... Only to find it locked. 

The moral to this story: Be sure to use the bathroom before sitting outside and reminiscing about your daughter's 18th birthday in the early morning.