Spring had finally come to northern Wisconsin. The sunshine was beginning to feel warm on my bare arms as I walked in the yard of my little house. For the first time in many months, I didn't have to wear a sweater or jacket and it was nice. This was a special spring. Soon I would give birth to my baby - number five in our family. Two girls and two boys so far. It didn't matter to me if this baby was a boy or girl. All of our children were a joy to us and another boy would be just as welcome as another girl.
Although the due date was still a week away, I was beginning to see signs of the coming birth. Easter Sunday had been an emotional day. For some reason, my tears were ready at the mention of almost any subject. I was feeling especially "homesick" and wished our family were closer at this time. I knew I'd have to leave my baby boy (almost four) for a few days when I went to the hospital and that worried me. The others would be fine at home with Daddy in the evenings and at school during the day. My little guy was staying with friends in another town who loved him and would show him a good time. But I knew we had never been apart and he'd miss me.
The beautiful new baby clothes had been washed and carefully put in a drawer awaiting this new little one. My friends had given me a shower a few weeks ago and it was such fun to look through all these fresh new things. One of my friends had given me a beautiful pink outfit with lace on it, obviously for a girl. She told me she couldn't pass it up and included the sales slip in case it had to be returned. I loved it!
As I sat in our living room, watching my little one play with blocks and enjoying the afternoon quiet, I reflected on our years here in this house. The huge yard was the first thing that attracted us to this place. Then the large living room with dining area at one end. The harvest table sat in front of the window, looking out onto our front porch. To separate this from the living room, I had hung white lace curtains at the single window. A long bench on either side sat our family and the ever present parade of friends who ate our Sunday dinner with us. A missionary family traveling through, a pastor who was retired and now ran a Christian campground. Our former pastor who came a weekend a month to lead our church services.
I laughed aloud as I remembered the time a family of six came for the weekend. Four kids plus three of ours slept on sleeping bags on our basement floor, which had a section carpeted and paneled off for a possible fourth bedroom. The tiny kitchen and apartment sized stove fed countless mouths day after day as we lived and loved in this, our home. Often, nearly all of the weeks' grocery money was spent on a special Sunday dinner for guests and we lived on leftovers and sandwiches and creative casseroles the rest of the week. It was always a blessing and I was happier than I ever imagined I could be. On Saturday afternoons we'd pack up the kids and go out to our church, which was meeting in an old schoolhouse that had been renovated. We'd vacuum and dust and polish while the kids played outside or took naps behind the pulpit. Afterwards, we'd stop for an ice cream or other treat on the long drive home. Such a wonderful life - and I was thankful!
Early the next morning, I awoke with a dull pain in my back. Aha! I guess the baby would not wait until it was due after all. I got up and fixed breakfast for the kids and as they headed out the door, I told them they may have to go next door for lunch today. I didn't want to get them upset, so I just hinted at the possibility this might be the day the new baby would put in an appearance. The pains were becoming more intense and closer together by now so it was time to go. I put on a nice maternity jumper, called our neighbor and let her know the kids would be coming for lunch and then dropped our little guy off at a friend's home down the street. He would be picked up later by the family who would be caring for him. I kissed him and said a tearful "goodbye" and climbed back into our car. We were almost out of gas, so we had to stop at the gas station on our way. Jim, the guy who owned the place and knew us well, wondered where we were going and why Wally wasn't at work. He wasn't surprised that we were on our way to the hospital.
After checking in and getting all the paperwork taken care of, we settled down to the business of getting this little one born. Most of my labors had been long and slow so I wasn't expecting anything too quick, which was good. Wally called some friends and our parents to let them know where we were and then we relaxed in the hospital labor room.
As the day went on, it became obvious that Wally wouldn't be home in time for the kids after school so Barb, a friend of ours went to our home to wait for them. Soon her husband joined her and another friend, Marcella. It wasn't long before Dr. Gray stopped by on his way home from the office and Pat and Tony, friends and neighbors joined the crowd. Bedtime came and the three oldest kids were well taken care of by our dear friends. Our little guy was now safely in the home of Russ and Del and having a ball.
The labor and delivery went pretty normal. Other than the doctor giving me the epidural early and having it all worn off long before the baby appeared, it was a normal birth. At two minutes before midnight, our darling baby girl came into the world. She weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. and was beautiful. We checked her over, counting all her fingers and toes and she was perfect. I can't remember a time in my life when I was happier or more fulfilled than that day. She was all I ever wanted and our entire family was on cloud nine. We named her "Susan Ruth".
Five days later, when we brought her home from the hospital, it was so good for our family to be together again. A neighbor brought us supper and Wally headed off to work at his part time job. After all, there was another mouth to feed and it took all the hours he could work to afford to meet the needs of this happy, growing family.
Beautiful!
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