The most amazing thing that has happened is the birth of Kelsee, Matthew and Jeannette's little, and I do mean little, baby girl. The most incredible part is I got to be there when she was born. I remember when Jeannette asked me, and I'm thinking and saying, gosh, I don't know if I can do that -- because I was sure I just might pass out. Joyce Kaye, a good friend and a nurse, was standing there, and she said it was the opportunity of a life time, especially since I don't have kids of my own. Joyce said that I wouldn't be the first person to pass out in a delivery room if I did. So then I asked Joe if he thought I could handle it. His first words were, no way, you will pass out. Well, the big day arrived, and I realized that having a baby is a long, long ordeal. Matthew was prepared. He had more snacks than a elementary school kid. We made it fun, because when it got closer and closer, we started making bets on the arrival time, and we decided we were in a competition with the girl next door to see who would deliver first. I don't think Jeannette was amused.
Well, when it was time to push -- I learned all kinds of terminology that day -- the nurses sprang into action. I looked at Crystal and asked how long the "pushing" took. She said it could take up to two hours, and I thought my jaw was going to drop open. It probably did. By now it was past 11 p.m., and the little thing that weighs the baby that was outside the other girl's room was moved outside Jeannette's room. The nurses joked that she better deliver Kelsee before midnight so they didn't have to change the date on all of her bracelets. Well, God's plan was to save the nurses some extra work, because Kelsee was born at 11:58 p.m. on July 15, 2010. And we beat the other girl to boot!
So Kelsee officially makes me a grandmom -- I'm Granny K -- in a complicated way. Jeannette's sister-in-law asked how we were related, and we both just said, "It's a long story." Two weeks later, they came up to our house for the Patricia Neal IRC adaptive water ski day, and Kelsee got to ride on the tram for the first time. That was the first time Joe had seen her, and he took her from Jeannette and was showing her off. I told Jeannette we were going to have to pry that baby away from him, and sure enough we did.
We had a great day with some great friends and cooked 30 pizzas on the grill. We made some new friends, and we caught up with some old ones. Michael came to our house but because it rained all morning, they went back home. So we missed Michael and his family. Joe got a gift from the Ward boys too. Harvey and Jacquelyn and Jamie and Joe spent the weekend, and we had a wonderful time. We had so much fun, I woke up with a temporary tattoo on my back the next morning.
It was a fun way to blow off steam and to calm fears. When we were cooking pizzas, I looked at my phone and saw two missed calls from Julia, Joe's sister. I told Joe to look at his phone. He had two missed calls from Mary Lou, his other sister. Charles came down the tram and said our phone at the house was ringing off the hook. All not good signs. Well, Pa, Joe's dad, had been released from the hospital Thursday. This was after many discussions about the reality that alternative care should be considered and discussed. Pa is adamant that he is not going into a nursing home. No one wants him to go, but the reality of him being able to care for himself is not there, and Granny and Mary Lou are not healthy enough or strong enough to do so. So he went home on Thursday, and we are on our dock cooking pizzas on Saturday, when the phones start buzzing. Pa had fallen and broken his hip, which turned out it was his femur. It was a nasty break in three places.
To say the least, Joe and I were furious. There were serious questions about whether he could survive surgery. He has all sorts of other ailments so that other surgeries have been not done. He has been hospitalized multiple times this year, and the prior hospitalization was because of blood clots. So he was on major blood thinners. Miraculously, he survived the surgery. But he isn't out of the woods yet. He is in the Rehabilitation Center, but making slow progress. His body is just worn out, and I'm always left wondering each time the phone starts ringing, whether he has finally gotten to cat life number nine. Only time will tell.
So today, I'm waiting on family to visit. Joe should be home this evening from Calling All Men, which has been a big success based on the reports I have gotten. I am reading a new book, When Christians Get It Wrong, which is so far, so good. And I feel like it is the calm before the storm. Maybe its just a little peace, and just maybe I can get some rejuvenation in the process. I'll probably need it.
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