Friday, April 29, 2011

Maybe It's Just a Little Pee?

I remember the day she was born.  It was a Tuesday.  I drove to work and sat at my desk.  I put a pink slash across the block on my pregnancy calendar, committing myself fully to the final seven days that lay between me and my due date.

I sat at my desk 400 months pregnant and did some paper work, preparing a few final lesson plans before turning over the reigns to the pre-pubescent long-term sub who was coming to replace me.

On my way to the bathroom, which is where I was perpetually going, I found myself answering the question that all women in the late stages of pregnancy HATE to answer.  "Didn't you have that baby yet?" 

"No, not yet."  I replied for the seven millionth time.  "I'm not due until next week and I never go early."

Famous last words.
  
I walked into the classroom and greeted my youthful blonde substitute with a warm hello.  She smiled back but her grinned slowly faded as she glanced down towards my crotch. 
"Umm," she started nervously, "I think you might have...umm...well...it looks like you have some.... umm....your pants are wet." 

Startled, I looked down and sure enough my khaki pants were in fact, wet. 

"Oh My God!" I exclaimed and darted to the lav before the students started flooding into the classroom.  I stared at my wet underwear in disbelief.  My water had never broken before.  In fact, my first two children would still be in utero were it not for overaggressive cervix checks. 

I called my OB office and after asking a few background questions the nurse said the following, "Well, if it's only a little water, it's more likely that you just peed." 

No.  No way.  I can NOT be that girl.

I can not be the teacher who peed her pants. 

To understand why, I would have to take you back further in time and tell you a story of a girl who was taken out of school on a stretcher.  With an oxygen mask.  In front of hundreds of on-looking high school students. 

This girl was transported to the hospital.  With lights and sirens. 

This girl waited for eight hours and underwent many tests only to have a doctor slightly older than her fetus tell her that she simply had "gas."

And that is why when the nice nurse said to me that it might just be "a little pee."  I explained  that I could NOT be THAT girl.

So it turns out that I didn't pee my pants that day.  And my water really did break one week early. 

And on that day three years ago, my beautiful daughter was born. My life was forever changed. 

I knew the magic of having a child but I could never have guessed the joy that having a daughter would bring. 

Her curls come from Aunt Jenny, her face is her Daddy's, her personality takes a page from both Aunt Kimmie and Aunt Kadie, but her heart....well, that belongs to me. 

Happy Birthday Mini-Monkey. 


2 comments:

  1. She is beautiful and Happy Birthday!

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  2. MY heart belongs to her (and you and Kadie and Riley and Owen and ...) Life is good!

    ReplyDelete