Sometime the next morning after DH left for work, I woke up with cramps but it was still 9 days before my due date so I didn't know if it was labor. It didn't take long to decide indeed it was. I called DH to come home from work and called the Dr. I think around 11 AM we headed to the hospital. It was pretty typical labor until a few hours later when my water broke and they noticed meconium in the fluid - and as a nurse, I knew that was a sign of fetal distress. Soon my Dr was sitting by my bedside and he didn't leave to head back across the street for his office hours. They tried to attach a fetal monitor to the baby's head, but it caused more fetal distress and the next thing we knew, I was being rushed into the OR for an emergency C-section. Poor David didn't know what was happening and I later learned he thought he was going to loose both of us. I remember my Dr saying "I am sorry, we don't have time for an epidural, you are going to sleep". And then the next thing I remembered was waking up in a lot of pain with DH standing over me telling me we had a healthy baby boy!! And that is how our son Jason made his entrance into the world 30 years ago today. He gave us quite a scare and that certainly was not the last time. He was the typical rough and tumble little boy who grew into a burly boy as my sweet friend Dot calls her sons.
Jay has always been smart, strong willed and very capable. And he didn't seem to need much sleep. He was up early raring to go and stopped napping well before his 2nd birthday. Just about when I was pregnant with his sister and I needed a nap! I would rock him, hopping he'd get drowsy but I was the one falling asleep instead. He was curious as all get out. When he was a toddler, we would go to play dates at friends and he would get into things their children never even noticed. He kept me hopping. He liked to explore and learn and discover. And he has always been good at whatever he puts his mind to, whether it was sports or school or something else. He was always athletic but for a time preferred his art and he even designed an entire trading card series based on some super heroes he invented. He worked on them for weeks. In high school he was asked to be in the honors art program but by then he had discovered his big love - football and didn't want to take the time needed for the honor art portfolio. He wanted to spend the time in the gym and weight room instead. He played JV while still in middle school. And then, as a freshmen in high school, he quickly moved up to varsity in a starter position. At the end of his freshmen year, Jay and the brand new coach and 3 other freshmen went to the state high school super bowl to watch. Those 4 young men told the coach "we will play in the super bowl when we are seniors." It was a mighty tall order because at the time, our town's football program hadn't done well for years - including that year when they won only one out of 12 games. But true to their word, by his senior year, his team reversed that record and was top in the Division and they indeed went to that Super Bowl but this time, not as spectators. Jay was one of 4 players on his team to be named league all star. The next year in college, he was again a freshmen starter on the team.
Aside from art and sports, Jay has always been good with people and many times I was told how congenial he was as a young man - he could converse easily with any adult. That served him well when he decided to come home from college, enter the work force and continue his college education at night (while his company paid for it - he's smart with money too!) . Jay has always been willing to work hard for what he wants, sometimes holding down 2 jobs at times so he could realize his dream and buy his very own home by himself at the age of 25. Not easy to do in the housing market around here at that time. And not just any house. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in a lovely neighborhood. The day his realtor, our friend Sandy, came to pick him up and take him to his closing, was one the proudest days of my life until that point.
Here are just a few pictures of our wonderful son through the years....
Just a few months old with his proud daddy...
Enjoying Mamma's Easter tree..
His second birthday. (yes, I made the cake. )
With his little sister...
Dressed in his Easter suit...
5 years old...
At the salmon run on the Cape....
17 years old holding his cousin Hannah...
Junior prom night with his little sister... (who was dating another football player so she too went to his prom)
Senior prom....
His very first Christmas in his own home with his first Christmas tree..
and on his wedding day last April with his beautiful wife Angela....
and the home he now shares with her....
At times it seem so unreal that he is this old, but then he'll do something like invite DH and I over for a cookout to show off his new grill, and cook us a wonderful meal, and then it seems so natural..JPG)
And as my regular peeps know, the best day ever was when Jay and Angela found out that they will become parents in June.
So today is not only very special because it is Jay's 30th birthday, it is also the day that we found out that our grand baby will be wearing these come this summer....
That's right - it's a girl - I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! See what the bib say? I couldn't resist buying these for the proud daddy to be! And it looks like daddy and mommy went shopping right after the Dr's. visit - good taste Jay!!
We love you Jay and we are so proud of you and we so excited what the next several months will bring. Take our word for it, just as your birth changed our lives for the better, your daughter will do the same for you!! Happy happy day son!
Until next time - hugs, Linda
