Surprises

When is the last time someone really surprised you? I would love to hear your stories.

I was surprised last Tuesday morning when my son-in-law called me to tell me he was taking my daughter to the hospital because she was in labor.

That's not possible, I thought. She's two weeks early and, in our family, we always go late!

Well, not this time. Six hours later my beautiful grandson was born. Despite the fact that he was face up and the delivery required four hours of pushing on the part of my daughter, she opted to keep it natural and did not use drugs of any kind to help her endure the pain. As a result, Lincoln was bright-eyed and alert, right from the start.

When my younger daughter was in labor, her OB kept pushing for an epidural. When she refused, the doctor said, "I just want to make it easy for you," to which Jess replied, "I never expected it to be easy." Good answer. Unfortunately, she eventually had to have one anyway, due to a mistake made by a nurse who really messed up her labor. I was with Jess at the time and, after watching what she had endured, gently advocated for the epidural for her.

For me, I was blessed to be able to deliver naturally with all three of my children. But I do recognize that is not always possible.

I started out today writing about surprises and that is where I intended to go with this. A bigger surprise for me this week happened on Saturday afternoon. I was sitting at a picnic table at a family reunion 250 miles away from my home when I looked up and saw my daughter and her husband approaching...the daughter who had just given birth four days prior!! In her arms was my precious newborn grandson who had just experienced his first roadtrip! This little one has now clocked over 600 miles and he's not even a week old yet!

We like surprises and grand entrances in this little family of mine. There have been other surprise appearances at other events and each one of them colors my life with just a bit more excitement and joy.

Bethany's arrival at the family reunion excited me so much I couldn't just sit there and wait for them...I had to run to them. One problem: I was wearing heals and had to run across a grassy hill. Let me just say -- that didn't go so well...I have the bruises, cuts and swollen joints to attest to that! Brush-burned knees at my age...lovely!

As you can tell, it's been a busy and exciting week, including the fun I had with the giveaway. I will resume posting relevant information to help you live healthier and greener lives starting tomorrow. For now, I think I'll just nurse my wounds and relish the wonder of unexpected delights.

Hana