(6 Weeks)
I wasn’t due for another month, but the Monday after the baby shower on April 1st, I headed over to Baby’s ‘R’ Us to get the balance of the needed items still on the registry – including diapers. Chris thought I was nuts. But it was mother’s intuition already kicking in. Our daughter was born less than a week later, a full four weeks early.
Work was busy as I was putting the final touches on an event that was supposed to take place a day after her due date in May. I figured I’d miss the event but had every intention of working right up until the last moment. We were also doing some renovations in the house and in my big, clumsy state trying to navigate around everything, spilled a can of soda on the TV remote, rendering it useless.
I was given strict orders not to return home after work the next day without first stopping at the cable company to pick up a new one. After feeling uncomfortable all day at work (“boy these Braxton Hicks contractions are horrible; they’re not going to happen the entire last month, are they?”), I headed over to Cablevision securing a new remote, but nothing for dinner. So, we went to the mall for a bite to eat and likely walked over a mile.
My water broke at about 2 a.m. and our daughter was born a little after 8:30 a.m.
Thankfully we worked out the “name issue” already. Back in December, we were convinced she was going to be a he and had the perfect boy’s name picked out. The sonogram set us back. I knew I wanted her to have a more unique name than I had, or her dad had. But we couldn’t agree. With time running out, I suggested we both go make a list of 10 names we liked and then compare. Surely there would be a few overlaps we could discuss!
Neither of us were able to come up with 10 names. Each list contained only five names. And only one name (with the same Gaelic spelling) appeared on both our lists. So that was the name we chose. I thought it sounded lovely, the Gaelic spelling was cool and honored my heritage, and it passed Chris’ “bully test” meaning he couldn’t find any way her name could be used against her on the playground at some point in her future.
Then one day when she was a few months old, I took her to Hillside, New Jersey where Sister John was visiting her brother’s family and would have this opportunity to meet the baby of the baby for whom she had cared. Upon arrival I introduced her to Jimmy Scully, who in his thick brogue, said “What kind of a name is that for a girl? [That] is a boy’s name.”
Although the Gaelic names website we both consulted said it was unisex, it’s way more popular as a boy’s name in Ireland. Have you ever Googled yourself? When she was old enough to do that, all she found was a bunch of Irish boys. For most of her childhood she was mad at me for that and often threatened to change her name.
I still love her name, and I think after 25 years, she’s okay with it now too (I think). I love her no matter what and we’ve been through a lot together. I survived her terrible twos and teen years, watched her overcome challenges and witnessed her growing into a responsible adult, and a beautiful caring human being. I have learned a lot from her.
My favorite moments are when I go to a concert at one of the venues at which she works in operations. It is so incredible seeing her with all this responsibility, in her element, respected by co-workers and supervisors at all levels.
In addition to a Lollapalooza four-day pass, her birthday present will be something amazingly unique. It started as a Christmas gift from my parents in 1999 before she was born. Everyone important in her life at the time added something to it throughout her first year. It’s made the move from a couple houses, across several states, sat in a storage area here for a few years with marking that say, “don’t open until…” She will get to open it next week.
Happy 25th Birthday to my one and only baby. You will always be my baby, and I am immensely proud of the adult you are and are still becoming.
Please help me support Mercy Home for Boys & Girls with my 60th Birthday Fundraiser. I will be running the United Airlines NYC Half on March 16th. This will be Half Marathon #54. My goal is to reach Half Marathon #60 before the end of the year. Please help me stay motivated, and make sure the children of Mercy Home are provided the care they need. To learn more about Mercy Home and my why, please visit my fundraising page. Thank you.
