Eleven Years Ago Today

Eleven years ago today, I witnessed something amazing.  I was in the delivery room for the birth of my nephew, Michael.  I was only 15 at the time, but I grasped the magnitude of the experience, and it's one that I'll never forget.  I will forever be grateful to my sister Jill for allowing me to be a part of that.  I remember looking at her during labor and seeing tears running down her cheeks.  I started to cry too and someone asked me why.  I said it was because I thought Jill was in so much pain and it made me hurt for her.  She looked at me and assured me that she wasn't crying because of pain....she was overwhelmingly happy at what was about to take place and those were tears of joy.  It's hard to describe how I felt in the moments that followed.  Seeing Michael enter this world after the culmination of months of growth and development and a million things that needed to occur just perfectly, was breathtaking.  I could truly see why it brought tears of joy to Jill's eyes.   

My mother-in-law and I were discussing this subject last weekend, since she was recently able to witness the birth of her newest grandson.  She had four children herself, but this was the first time she was on the other end of the situation!  It brought tears to her eyes just speaking about it, and I completely understood.  She had trouble finding the words to describe why it affected her so much, and I completely understood.  We tried to explain to Jer what it was like, but I know we fell short of doing it justice.  It's really something that has to be experienced first-hand.  Considering childbirth is a very emotional, vulnerable, and personal process, I can see why some women only want their husbands there in the room.  But after having witnessed a birth, and knowing how much joy it brought me, I think I want to share that with others too.  Of course this is me saying this now, with no bun in the oven, but I hope I still feel the same way when the time comes.  I hope I'm comfortable with letting my close family members be a part of it.

I can't believe it's been eleven years since that day.  Michael has always been "Mikey" to me, but pretty soon I probably can't call him that anymore!  He's always been smart, courteous, athletic, and loving.  I am very, very excited at what the future holds for him.  I get the feeling it might include something baseball-related in it, but that's just a guess......HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

 2001

2004

2006

2007

Mikey and Joe with Josh Hamilton - 2009