Theo

         My newest grandson had a birthday on January 20^th! He turned a whole year old and is an absolute delight with his smiles and his pointing to everything, his bits of sign language and his studying my face intently when I’m being goofy with him. Here is what I wrote for his birth last year – upon review of the following paragraphs, I seem to ramble on a bit about my retro couch, perhaps to distract from the politics of the day. Perhaps that explains Theo’s careful study of me when I am around.

        

The Dude studying the camera/phone!

         Well wouldn't you know it? The baby decided to arrive on his Great Aunt Michelle's birthday and twenty minutes past the inauguration of the new President! Friday, January 20^th. It all started on Thursday – the day before; Tony, the Dad-to-be, and Sarah, the aunt-to-be, were called. Tony came home from work, and Sarah packed up her family and drove from Chapel Hill to Athens. There are lots more details from the day, but they are Amanda and Tony's story to tell. Suffice to say that things were happening such that Amanda needed to be admitted to the hospital and things were not happening such that labor progressed slowly all through the night.

         Sarah's husband, John, brought their kids to our house to spend the night. John said that Amanda's water broke. And that prompted my own story - the day that Sarah was born, my water broke around 5:30AM. I was sleeping on the couch every night all through the pregnancy, Amanda's pregnancy too – it was weird at the time, and sounds even weirder now – but I could not sleep on the bed – perhaps it had something to do with the couch having a back? – I don't know. But I was on the famous retro couch – one of the first pieces of furniture I purchased when I moved into my first apartment in Buffalo in 1977. It had a plaid pattern with brown and burnt orange stripes – burnt orange was in style back then – the rug I bought for the apartment living room was solid burnt orange.

         Years ago Sarah told me to never give the retro couch away because she wanted it. In fact, Sarah is the one who nicknamed it the retro couch. But then years went by – I kept waiting for Sarah to say she was ready for the couch. Finally, when I asked her, she said that the wanting of the retro couch had passed – and she absolutely did not want it anymore. More years passed – I guess I thought she might change her mind for nostalgia’s sake. So in that time, John and then Tony got to know the retro couch.

         When I mentioned to John that my water broke on the retro couch, well, it was all that much weirder yet again because that is a couch John has sat on himself!

letting go of the retro-couch 2016

         Anyway, I got rid of a lot of stuff last summer after we got new carpeting – it occurred to me I could finally part with the retro couch – but not without taking a few pictures first.

         So, back to the birthing....I thought I could be more helpful babysitting Virginia and Horatio in Lawrenceville while Sarah assisted in the delivery room at the hospital and John worked. But Friday morning, when John, the kids, John's Mom, and I were at Shoney's in Sugarloaf Mills enjoying a wonderful breakfast buffet, we got word that Amanda's labor had just picked up, and I realized I wanted very much to be at the hospital waiting room if John and Grandmommy could watch Horatio and Virginia.

         When I parked, found my way through the three towers of the hospital and at last got to the correct floor and waiting area, John called and said he just had word the baby was born – a boy named Theodore Frederick – he and Mom were doing just fine! Sarah came to the waiting area and sat with me while the new parents and baby moved from delivery to their own room.

         And then I got to meet the baby! A perfect little bundle – 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 ¼ inches long.

         With his birth coming 20 minutes after the inauguration, I have been heard to say more than a few times since then, Theodore is our light in the darkness. May we not despair!

7 20180130 Theo