Happy Birthday, Boo!

On August 19, 1977 Muffin and I took a trip with CB in the car seat and King Solomon the Fifth, our Sheltie in the back of the VW bus.  Yes, we had an orange and white hippy van.  It was even a camper. The four of us drove from Sacramento, CA to TX, passing through Los Angeles, Barstow, Phoenix, where it was 92 degrees at midnight, and on to Albuquerque and Amarillo, through the West Texas cotton fields.  This is where we stopped by the side of the road and Muffin taught CB to say "ahl wehl", rather than "oil well" like the proper Texan she is, even though she was only two years old at the time. Somewhere under one of those cotton plants, we found Boo, and brought her home with us. 

The previous story is not true. Well, part of it is true. Actually, all of it is true except finding Boo under a cotton plant. And I didn't really make that up. Well, it's made up, fictional, but not original. My Daddy, Dubbie, wrote most of that story to me while I was in college. He substituted a horse and wagon for the VW bus, his parents, Pappy and Pickle, for Muffin and me, and his siblings Callie and Pat for CB and Solomon. And the trip was much shorter--just going to town from their farm. But he absolutely, truly wrote all of this to me in a letter while I was in college and told me at the end of the letter that my Aunt Bennie was plucked from a cabbage patch on the way into town one day. 

So, back to the truth. On the way from California to Texas we really did learn that Boo would be birthed in 1978. And on April 22nd, after a fish fry at church on April 21st, laboring all night, cleaning house all day, while running to sit on the piano bench during contractions, our beautiful second daughter, Miss Boo, was born at 11:50 p.m. My labor and delivery nurse became a lifelong friend, and her first name is the same that we chose for Boo's. My doctor was not on call, so a very nice doctor who is now retired delivered her. The birth was natural--no drugs at all--and I hyperventilated when Muffin went to get into scrubs and we were on the way to the delivery room. We stayed in a recovery room for a couple of hours while we bonded with Miss Boo, made late night phone calls, and spoke words of love to our lovely baby girl. CB spent the night at Mulberry Street with Dubbie and Nannie. 

About 3:30 a.m. Muffin left the hospital to get some sleep and roughly thirty minutes later I began to hemorrhage.  But no one told me what was happening. The nurses just wouldn't leave me alone all night and I got no sleep at all. The next day was Sunday and all the staff was completely different,  so I received no report that day either, although I felt really sore and achey all over. On Monday when my doctor arrived, he told me what was happening and suggested that I take it easy. By then I was feeling recovered and went home to enjoy both my pretty girls and play dress up with my dolls. 

Boo had lots of company in the hospital and at home. Friends and family made quilts and other gifts for her and Nana and her sisters went shopping. My favorite outfit for her was a blue, white and yellow dress with layers of ruffles and panties to match. I loved the way her blue eyes popped when she wore it. She had a perfect oval shaped face with fuzzy blonde hair and was just the best at nursing, burping, sleeping. CB adored her and mothered her from day one. My second favorite outfit was a t shirt we bought for her and had embroidered with her nick name that CB gave her--Beckiboo.

Now Boo is all grown up, having another birthday, playing with her own dolls named Jonah and Gracie, dressing her sweet baby girl in blue or pink or lavender and having a beautiful day with her son. She totally understands how much I enjoyed her and her sisters, how I dreamed dreams for them and have been so delighted to see them fulfill their own dreams and become wonderful women. My prayer each night for them as little girls was that they would love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind and strength and love their neighbors as themselves. Today, I still pray that they and their babies and all the babies that follow for all generations of this family, will fall in love with Jesus. 

And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children. Isaiah 54:16 (Amplified)