Happy Happy Birthday Be Bo!!!

It is official....at 1:45 pm central time, I no longer have any children in my household. Only a teen.

Today Be Bo turns 13 years old!! I wish that you all could know him. He is a very sweet spirited person. We call him the good will ambassador of sports. That competitive thing just really has not caught on with him yet. Right now, he wants to be teacher. He will rock at that. Both of my children have different strong suits and talents. At times, they are as different as night and day. Yet I have a fierce love for both of them. I can remember being terrified the entire time that I was carrying him. I just KNEW that I could not love another child as much as I love baby gator. But I was wrong.

Both of my children have the same father. Yet they were born from 2 different marriages. I remarried my ex several years after we had divorced. That is another story that I am working on. When we remarried, it was a wonderful time for gator and I. I did not have to work. I was able to be a stay at home mom and a room mother. I really did not want to have another child. I said it was because things were good just the way that they were. Looking back now, I am sure that my spirit knew or suspected something that I did not want to see.

It took me almost a year to become pregnant. It was discovered that I had problems with my thyroid. After they fixed that, I got pregnant almost immediately. The planning for this new little one went forward. Gator just knew that she was having a baby sister and was so excited. In April of 1992, we all 3 went for the sonogram. I still have the video of the actual sonogram. The Doctor pressed his wand against my tummy ...Round and round he went with that thing. Finally he stopped and said those words that I will always remember, *There it is...A little son shine!*. We were ecstatic. Gator's little face fell. I can vividly remember my parents calling her on the phone and singing "You're going to have a brother!". I also remember her hanging up on them. I went home that day thinking that all was wonderful with the world and that I had accomplished some great feat. You see, there was not one male child in that family to carry on the name....Not one except the one that I was carrying.

The months go by and October arrived. My parents had come for the weekend. I can remember them all walking the pregnant woman. I was huge! My due date was still 2 weeks away. We went around the block a million times just knowing that this baby was ready to be born. I had some very strong contractions and we finally decided to go to the hospital. Once there, we were able to watch "The Comish" before they sent me home. I had a doctors appointment that Monday and my parents decided to stay and see what happened.

I had a 10:00 am doctor appointment. Once there, he asked if I was ready to have the baby. He did not have to ask me twice. Off we go to get ready for Be Bo to come into the world. They got me into that bed and nicked my water bag to get things started. That is where things took a turn for the worse. The nurse said "This will not hurt...You may feel a slight pressure.......Oh no." Word of advice here to anyone about to enter the nursing field. Please do not say *oh no* to a pregnant woman whose legs are up in the air. Meconium came rushing out with the water. She explained what was happening and that they would have to hurry everything along. My Daddy took Gator out to get some lunch. My Mom got ready to leave and I asked her to stay. For those that do not know my Mom, trust me....That was not her thing. She stayed for me. The doctor came in and they put something into my IV and the contractions kicked up about 10,000 degrees. He introduced my naked self to another man that came running into the room. I remember thinking that it must be really windy outside cause that man's hair was all over the place. Later I found out that he was an emergency pediatrician that was called in strictly to work on my son. I also later found out that there was a helicopter waiting to airlift Be Bo to a Dallas hospital if the need arose.

My Mom held one leg and my ex held another and I pushed. Out he came all swollen and big.
They whisked him away without even holding him still for a moment so that I could look at him. I whispered, "I just want to hear him cry. Please make him cry.". The nurse that had helped me though all of the labor leaned over an whispered, "Oh honey, we do not want him to cry until they can clean out his mouth and throat and have made sure that it is safe for him.". The love for that child that I had not even heard cry came rushing into my heart. Then, he cried. The most beautiful sound that I have ever heard.

One month later to the day, my ex walked out.

My Mother is now so very glad that she was there when he was born. She is able to tell him the story of his birth.

My Father has been the stong male influence in his life and drives a bizillion miles with high gas prices to be at each and every game that Be Bo plays in.

His Sister adores him. She fights with him and thinks that he is horrible at times. (She even knocked him over when we were playing putt putt the other day!) However, she loves him fiercely and will go out of her way to protect him.

And for me, I love this child. My second born with a golden retriever personality. I cannot imagine my life without him in it.

Someday, I will tell you the story of how he saved my life.