I dreamt the other night I was giving birth before a crowd. I am not sure who was in this crowd but I felt compelled to entertain them. Alas, nothing was happening contractionwise. I asked the nurse to check me and she pulled a baby out. The boy had a 10 year old's face and a full head of blond hair. It wasn't even wet. I immediately named him Charlie and felt bad that the birth wasn't more of a show.
Why do I dream such weird things? Maybe I am identifying with Shanna though I am sure she wouldn't want a crowd watching her. Another of Maya's many cousins was born about a month ago (Don'tae has 8 siblings). This birth was a well attended event. Naomi's job was to position her smart phone close to the business end to record this baby boy's birth, which she did.
Having the family all show up for a birth must be a tradition in Don'tae's family. Some showed up during Maya's birth, which I found distracting. When we had moved the labor operation into the tub room, they seemed to disappear.
While I was in labor with Shanna, a friend showed up and constantly questioned the nurses. She was not allowed in the delivery room, thankfully. Every stupid thing I said while in labor she would repeat for years to come. I was not amused. She never has given birth so I was not able to return the favor.
Shanna was in the room when I gave birth to Naomi. She was almost 12 and fairly mature. I more or less 'suffer in silence' so I didn't think I would scare her from ever having babies (as she is carrying her third, that worked out). Still every birth is different and I reserved the right to send her away if I could not control myself. I needed to be induced as my waters had broken 2 days before. I went from no labor to end stage labor just like that so it was rough. The plus side was that Naomi was born within 2 hours. The negative was that I worried that the quick birth affected her somehow though usually oxygen deprivation results in motor difficulties and she was a great athlete.
And why would I name a baby Charlie? Lately I have been doing genealogy searches. My great-grandfather Charles named his third son, my grandfather, after himself. My grandfather refused to use the name as an adult and went by his middle name Howard. To my 1960s ears, Charles seemed like a better name than Howard. I had asked him once why he changed his name. He said he hated the name Charles. Was this a form of rebellion? My grandfather had plenty of nice things to say about his mother but was silent about his father. He didn't believe in speaking ill of anyone. My grandmother also chose to go by her middle name though this did not seem to need an explanation. Her birth name was Sappho Cecelia. Her mother had a college degree (rare in the 1800s) so she must have known the details about Sappho. My grandmother was not too excited about the name Cecelia either. When it was proposed that I be named after her, she nixed that idea right away saying she didn't like the name.
Our nice weather is gone. I had run 5 days in a row so I am taking a break. Shanna's family comes to dinner later today and then she will leave. I feel that I haven't spent much time with her but she has many competing claims on her time so I should just grow up and not pout.
Another side activity we have been engaged in is making photobooks. I have been purchasing these at discounts from Living Social and its ilk.I made a very nice one of Naomi's wedding and Naomi made one too. Even Steve has gotten into the action. His brother has never been one to keep photos or anything for that matter. His wife has wanted pictures of his childhood. Steve made one of his brother's life from birth to Naomi's recent wedding in which there were plenty of shots of him dancing. Steve mailed it in time for his brother's birthday, which is today. His brother seemed genuinely touched by the book.
Why do I dream such weird things? Maybe I am identifying with Shanna though I am sure she wouldn't want a crowd watching her. Another of Maya's many cousins was born about a month ago (Don'tae has 8 siblings). This birth was a well attended event. Naomi's job was to position her smart phone close to the business end to record this baby boy's birth, which she did.
Having the family all show up for a birth must be a tradition in Don'tae's family. Some showed up during Maya's birth, which I found distracting. When we had moved the labor operation into the tub room, they seemed to disappear.
While I was in labor with Shanna, a friend showed up and constantly questioned the nurses. She was not allowed in the delivery room, thankfully. Every stupid thing I said while in labor she would repeat for years to come. I was not amused. She never has given birth so I was not able to return the favor.
Shanna was in the room when I gave birth to Naomi. She was almost 12 and fairly mature. I more or less 'suffer in silence' so I didn't think I would scare her from ever having babies (as she is carrying her third, that worked out). Still every birth is different and I reserved the right to send her away if I could not control myself. I needed to be induced as my waters had broken 2 days before. I went from no labor to end stage labor just like that so it was rough. The plus side was that Naomi was born within 2 hours. The negative was that I worried that the quick birth affected her somehow though usually oxygen deprivation results in motor difficulties and she was a great athlete.
And why would I name a baby Charlie? Lately I have been doing genealogy searches. My great-grandfather Charles named his third son, my grandfather, after himself. My grandfather refused to use the name as an adult and went by his middle name Howard. To my 1960s ears, Charles seemed like a better name than Howard. I had asked him once why he changed his name. He said he hated the name Charles. Was this a form of rebellion? My grandfather had plenty of nice things to say about his mother but was silent about his father. He didn't believe in speaking ill of anyone. My grandmother also chose to go by her middle name though this did not seem to need an explanation. Her birth name was Sappho Cecelia. Her mother had a college degree (rare in the 1800s) so she must have known the details about Sappho. My grandmother was not too excited about the name Cecelia either. When it was proposed that I be named after her, she nixed that idea right away saying she didn't like the name.
Our nice weather is gone. I had run 5 days in a row so I am taking a break. Shanna's family comes to dinner later today and then she will leave. I feel that I haven't spent much time with her but she has many competing claims on her time so I should just grow up and not pout.
Another side activity we have been engaged in is making photobooks. I have been purchasing these at discounts from Living Social and its ilk.I made a very nice one of Naomi's wedding and Naomi made one too. Even Steve has gotten into the action. His brother has never been one to keep photos or anything for that matter. His wife has wanted pictures of his childhood. Steve made one of his brother's life from birth to Naomi's recent wedding in which there were plenty of shots of him dancing. Steve mailed it in time for his brother's birthday, which is today. His brother seemed genuinely touched by the book.
1 comment:
I LOVED your dream and could spend hours with you interpreting it! I also love the photo book idea...wish I had the patience to create some of those...
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