today, 13 years ago, my little Annie-Ohs was born. she had to be removed with forceps and for a little while, she had a cone head. on top of this cone head was long black hair that stuck straight up. her skin was very splotchy and she had to go to the incubator right away for assessment. i was pretty much too tired to think, so i walked around with perma-grin (the good kind) and looked at the bird as they were cleaning her up. unfortunately, one of my first thoughts was, "she looks mexican or eskimo-- how is this possible?" we were stationed in yuma, az. at the time and were 20 minutes from the mexican border. i joked a bit about this, but mindy didn't find it very amusing. i wonder why?.. ;>)
we were new parents and fumbled around with the car-seat for the bird. i drove us home, took the bird upstairs, and laid her on her back on our bed. we stared at her and we didn't exactly know what to do. i remember feeling at a loss for logical thought. can i go the bathroom? who watches her first? what do we do? seriously. the reality was very real: your child is home, you are responsible for her, and keep her safe.
within minutes of blank staring at our Annie-Ohs, we took her clothes and diaper off, then she used jet-propulsion to poo all over our bed. hence the name, "bird." i called her a doodie bird after she deposited liquid gooeies all over our sheets.
last night as mindy and i were attempting to fall asleep, mindy says, "can you believe it? we have a teenager!" i said, "wow, my little annie-ohs (Ann is her middle name) is growing up to be a fine young lady." i felt emotional at that moment, because i was thankful for her being in my life, being a beautiful person, and before i knew it-- she would gain interdependence with each day.
when i hear the bird say, "i love you, dad." it blesses my heart beyond words. God is good and every perfect gift is from Him. today, i will leave work early to watch her run in a cross country meet. after nanna's soccer game, we'll take the bird out to dinner. her favorite place is the olive garden. i'm looking forward to celebrating a life that is oh so cherished.
If you ever feel like you've messed up in your life so bad that nothing good could ever come from you-- have a chat with me. i'd like to share the truth about that with you.
Jay
we were new parents and fumbled around with the car-seat for the bird. i drove us home, took the bird upstairs, and laid her on her back on our bed. we stared at her and we didn't exactly know what to do. i remember feeling at a loss for logical thought. can i go the bathroom? who watches her first? what do we do? seriously. the reality was very real: your child is home, you are responsible for her, and keep her safe.
within minutes of blank staring at our Annie-Ohs, we took her clothes and diaper off, then she used jet-propulsion to poo all over our bed. hence the name, "bird." i called her a doodie bird after she deposited liquid gooeies all over our sheets.
last night as mindy and i were attempting to fall asleep, mindy says, "can you believe it? we have a teenager!" i said, "wow, my little annie-ohs (Ann is her middle name) is growing up to be a fine young lady." i felt emotional at that moment, because i was thankful for her being in my life, being a beautiful person, and before i knew it-- she would gain interdependence with each day.
when i hear the bird say, "i love you, dad." it blesses my heart beyond words. God is good and every perfect gift is from Him. today, i will leave work early to watch her run in a cross country meet. after nanna's soccer game, we'll take the bird out to dinner. her favorite place is the olive garden. i'm looking forward to celebrating a life that is oh so cherished.
If you ever feel like you've messed up in your life so bad that nothing good could ever come from you-- have a chat with me. i'd like to share the truth about that with you.
Jay
5 comments:
wow, that post made me tear up. seriously it is a big thing the first one who becomes a teen in any house. what a day. she is a beautiful, sweet, kind young lady and that must mean that you and mindy have done right by her.
happy birthday to the bird.
oh ps. so glad you are posting again.
Sue and I feel very privileged just to know Kayla . . . What an awesome young lady you are raising and I think that says something about the quality of her parents . . .
i concur. you and mindy are doing a great job raising your children. they are awesome. and i guess you guys are too =o).
it was a good birthday for the bird. thanks for the kind words. kayla really liked reading them. thanks.
Jessica calls me something else when I poo on the bed
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