Think Of Something Happy

"Happy 3rd Birthday Boogs!"

Yesterday's post about the man and woman who lost their jobs and felt so much despair that they made the horrific decision to kill themselves and their children upset me a lot. I read that post after I wrote it and was filled with a sadness I haven't felt in a long time. When I was a child, I was always able to bounce back after something bad happened to me by bringing up a memory of something good that happened to me. It's something that has stayed with me most of my life... the ability in the worst of times to think of something happy.

I pulled up my blog and I stared at the photo of that family and I was wondering what I was going to write today. I didn't want to write about anything else in the news. The news has been and probably will be very depressing for a while. As I was preparing to write something altogether different, my grandson ran past me. He had a little cup of Motts Apple Sauce and he was eager to show it to me. I looked at him and remembered that just three years ago this month, he came into the world...

I sat in a hospital room with my daughter, who was in intense pain. Being a man and having never given birth or witnessed anyone being born. I really couldn't relate but, I could understand that she was in pain. I told her that she could hold my hand and squeeze it as tight as she needed to. We had been in the hospital all day awaiting his birth. It was now 9:30pm and he still hadn't arrived. There was a television on above us and I remember that "American Idol" was on (just like it is on right now, as I write this post).

On that night, I remember the performers were particularly bad and I was trying to get my daughter's attention off of her obvious pain and to watch the screen. One guy said, "People, tell me that I'm a cross between Ginuwine and Maxwell when I sing." He sang and let me tell you, Ginuwine and Maxwell have nothing to worry about! Midway through the song (he was singing "She's Out of My life" by Michael Jackson), he forgot the words. He asked Simon if he could start over again. They allowed him to do that and he stopped again, burst into tears, and ran off the stage. I was hysterical, slapping my knee with one hand while my daughter was squeezing my other hand like a vice grip. I pointed to the screen with my good hand and I told her, "You should really watch this show... these singers are giving me as much pain as you must be in." She didn't say anything but, I'm sure in her mind she was saying, "Don't bet on it!"

A couple of nurses came in and one put a cold towel across my daughter's forehead, while the other was telling her to "push". She tried valiantly but, nothing was happening. Meanwhile on the TV screen, another person was singing and attempting to do a back flip to close out the song. He lost his balance and fell into a group of chairs and hit the floor. I was in hysterics again until I felt her grip on my hand tightening. I looked around and it seemed as if twenty doctors were in the room all at once (really, it was about eight or nine). They were all talking feverishly fast and imploring my daughter to PUSH... PUSH... PUSH!!! Finally, I don't remember if it was my wife or one of the nurses but I heard someone say, "I see his head!"

Then, I heard everyone in the room say, "Ohhhhhhhhh..." I looked up and there was the little fella... all 8lbs + 7ozs of him. My daughter was relieved and my wife was ecstactic (I think she was the first one to hold him). I was happy because my daughter let go of my hand and this little fella grabbed a hold of my heart...

aka "The Booga Wooga"
January 24, 2006 @ 9:59pm