Sunday, March 15, 2009
To: the 1/2 Brit old lady
on TODAY of all days!~ to commemorate the day of her much anticipated arrival (if only to get all of the siblings OUT of the cooking rotation for family dinners, and to get our MOM off bedrest and upright again!)
From: the sister (shortest) that has to twist her neck the most to get a good look up at you(tallest)
With: a written memory of parts of your birth. mostly just for dave to enjoy in written form instead of subjected while eating his sunday/birthday dinner. and a few scanned pictures from yester-year to remind you of how much your family thinks about you, and wishes you the very best of celebrations as we complete another sucessful year of K and journey to the future unknown!
first...to set the scene....
The fam. as it was without our caboose. not only is dad Pete's hair flowing softly in the breeze (betcha you forgot what THAT looked like), and boy that's a lot of red hair in one place, and it's probably the only shot sar let me physically restrain her (talk about a moment in time), but we all sorta look---less than thrilled with life in general. my guess is we were made to wait for the photographer (the lovely and endlessly talented Grandma DTH) to take the shot before we were "released" to the back yard to play the rest of the day away.
which brings us around to Mid-March--El Camino hospital in Los Altos, CA early on a saturday morning in march 1986. A young father (41yrs old) and mother (38yrs old) leave their four youngest children in the waiting room to chat amongst themselves while they go about the business of getting the baby out, or--as we saw the morning before us: "making us wait" .
It was a different world back then my friends, even as I write this tonight from my recollection and notes, I think back to the "mood" in the waiting room (read: the vinyl bench outside the delivery room; probably just far enough away so we had to sit and entertain ourselves without mom and dad, but close enough that Dad could probably hear the screaming and fighting the four of us were bound to engage in as time passed whilst we "waited")
how old were the youngin's outside?
by my count we had an older redhead brother that was 12, watching his younger sisters (10 yrs old and 6 yrs old) and trying to not kill his little brother (8 yrs old). those boys knew how to get on each others nerves at LIGHT speed. and yet---also on the flip of a dime, the boys could be each others best friends. cause really--pickins were slim, it was either get along with each other or face the alternative of having to play with icky girls (and their sisters!!! no less) to pass the time.
and so we all waited
like silent little angels
or at least we didn't break anything. probably.
and split a box of oatmeal cookies in between us for our morning meal. which was probably proceeded by LOTS of discussion on fairness/quantity/splitting/bargining and overall--having to share with siblings when you're "waiting" was like beYOND difficult for us kids. (of course it was...or how else would my recollection be so vivid with a vinyl couch and oatmeal cookies!!!)
moving on
Mom labored
young kids died from boredom. we didn't quite "get" why it was taking so long to get that baby out. cause if we were at the hospital, couldn't THEY just make her come out?
what's with all the waiting???
and our older brother and sister were like so lucky and got to go to their soccer games and THEN drop by the hospital--the first born son (15 yrs old) and miss J (13 yrs old) had soccer games AFTER (read=they did NOT have to wait the longest on the vinyl) or it could have been before the baby came that they stopped by. they were in and out in my memory. and whatever--I KNOW they didn't have to wait as long as the youngest four did. typical. and the youngest four(for a few more minutes) shall lead them....
Well---i'll leave out some additional details, since I really haven't got my releases of information in order for all family members that were involved, but...at some point...before...dark....the G-fam caboose made her arrival.
I still recall the tiny-est little bit of nothing that I've ever held when I got my turn to hold the baby (unnamed) for my whole time; protecting her as only a sister could--i'm sure they had us hold her in turns. had to protect her from boys on both sides. i tried to channel as much sisterly love as i could while i held her and wondered...
and then floated on clouds afterwards.
and so? the caboose had arrived. all the siblings breathed a sigh of relief. Mom looked pretty good, and now we got to take home a baby to play with!
we tried to not notice the fact that she was the only non-redheaded girl (daughter) in the fam, but...we figured we could always color her hair with a sharpie or something. I figured. yes. it was me---correcting the blonde to the red didn't seem like TOO much of a challenge.
but....
my dad and mom were so not buying the "just name her afton too!!!!" request that it occurred to me, my newly expanded family unit may have come upon our first major challenge with this baby.
she needs a NAME
the following is an reenactment of the brilliant naming ceremony that was held shortly after mom and dad got home with the new baby girl. yes. i know i've taken some liberties with my memory and recall--but really--it reads a lot better if I remember it THIS way....
me, as the middle child on this momentous occasion, have nearly forgiven mom and dad for NOT naming my baby sister Bridgett or Megan; I’m sure if they would have offered up “k” initially, I would have totally supported that name, and I wouldn’t have had to tax my 10yr old brain to come up with the suggestions that they ASKED us for! Like they had run out of ideas!!!! Too many children to name...tired mom and dad….Siblings to the rescue!!!…name the unnamed baby!!! After all the work that I’m sure we (didn’t) do as kids….soon came the morning announcement shortly after her birth:
“ The purpose of this morning family meeting is to go over the kitchen garbage emptying requirements and rotation order! That tall kitchen garbage should be emptied each and every NIGHT!!!"
wait
sorry
wrong morning...ah yes ...here it is...
"I'd like to thank you all for your naming suggestions, your mother and I appreciate your love and concern for the baby, and we would also like to offer some feedback on some of the "input" we received from you
First off, Sar, we won’t be naming her black beauty OR the black stallion….and no Ry and Tay—even if you double up your “voting privileges” , she won’t be called princess leah OR smurfette
Further, J, we think she could be teased a little if we name her after any member of the Duran Duran group (mostly cause they’re all boys) and lastly, A, yes, we know you are the first born son, but we are NOT naming her after your girlfriend Genevieve.
[readers note-I left out myself…since I am SURE that my suggestion was the only legitimate one that was discarded]
and this shall be her nickname [K]. *for all the brits out there, it rhymes with Simba :-)”
Dad gets to the end of his speech, glad that the bad news/good news situation is now over--and now, a little Q & A, and then we can commence with the day!!!
but. he's met with silence.silence? but all the children are in one room??!?!? and it's the nicest room in the house!!! the one where they usually make the MOST noise and start the most FIGHTS over NOTHING!!! what the....(dad...loves his children--but knows that complete silence from 6 G kids...can only mean..."issues" building before the storm of words and "discussions" on love at home)
[sibling processing silence and thinking internally in the same collective mental space]
reality of the NAME/NICKNAME combo sets in. for us all.
well, if she has to be raised with at least EIGHT people telling her what to do…I suppose she’d better get all the upfront individuality she can. Name AND nickname. Ok. Fine. Yes—she may need the extra leg up ]
Naming rights and opinions aside, we needed a baby to practice taking care of, taking responsibility for
...and it HAD to be a child that would be made of pretty sturdy stuff; and sturdiness is present in the form of our K, it has been there since the beginning;
sometimes it’s tricky for her to remember—since she’s so humble and things—but if you remind her of how she’s a solid girl and how she always keeps moving forward and pushing herself and those around her towards excellence, which is the only TRUE measure of sturdiness of character.
we know. we all got lucky 23 years ago in that hospital. We got the caboose to the family that we never knew, we always needed.
And now? just cause I can....a few snaps:
I know little K, you're THRILLED!
---
how bout--I PROMISE to never wear my hair like this again if you PROMISE that you will try and match your polka-dotties. (but, can't deny that you DO look stylin'!! even if you ARE only picking up your older sister from girls camp drop off; who knows WHAT got my expression so serious. but...this snap captures the polka's--don't miss the secondary one, even though the primary focus is a little...mesmorizing...AND if you look close? you'll note that K even has a matching purse....[collective--aahhhwwwwhhhhh!!!]
---
and I PROMISE to only be your teacher on stage. in a hoop skirt. two days before your birthday...1993. but look how straight your back is!!!! and betcha you can't even tell that we're sisters--cause we're ACTING...and we're THAT good!!! (and our only time to share a stage? yes. i think so)
----
I also promise to keep posting pictures where I get to revise the historical context for my own amusements, and as I find it necessary to make a point.
speaking of which...
Voice of responsible adult working the bribe for smile/picture combo that is always a winner...a flash of brilliance on how to best engage three kids under 3 occurs, and the visualization is offered for their expressive faces to ponder on and then reflect back at the photographer---
"ok little cousins...sit there on the front steps and visualize your potential future...some day...far far away...auntie K will house you in London during your year abroad to find yourselves; your parents will miss you. But you'll have an adventure with K!!!"
"and she'll also teach you spanish cause that's how she found her british man!"
"ok. maybe we should have the british man do the espanol education, but he can still give it to you while you find yourself abroad!!!"
:-)
but they look so HAPPY ~~~dreaming of their visit to England...someday...
well, probably a more accurate observation of their expressions:
-Elisa will believe it when she sees it,
-Amy is totally psyched, but she has no idea why exactly...
-and then there's the lovely Miss Wav, our gentle smiling realist-optimist and ray of sunshine that pulls off the wining-est expression of joy and happiness--at visualizing her year abroad (she must be an adventurer at heart; her parents have raised her well!)
*sigh* sweet little "can't resist it" faces...and they sure do love their Aunt K.
Thinking of you on your day,
Happy Birthday K!
[03.24.09 post revised-the lady is 23...NOT 22. sheesh. not like i have a degree in numbers or anything...can ya blame me? wanting her to not grow up too fast, but at the same time--she knows way more than I did at 22...as virtual penance, I'll get real with myself and turn back on the comments for any and all that would like to...uh...comment]
on TODAY of all days!~ to commemorate the day of her much anticipated arrival (if only to get all of the siblings OUT of the cooking rotation for family dinners, and to get our MOM off bedrest and upright again!)
From: the sister (shortest) that has to twist her neck the most to get a good look up at you(tallest)
With: a written memory of parts of your birth. mostly just for dave to enjoy in written form instead of subjected while eating his sunday/birthday dinner. and a few scanned pictures from yester-year to remind you of how much your family thinks about you, and wishes you the very best of celebrations as we complete another sucessful year of K and journey to the future unknown!
first...to set the scene....
The fam. as it was without our caboose. not only is dad Pete's hair flowing softly in the breeze (betcha you forgot what THAT looked like), and boy that's a lot of red hair in one place, and it's probably the only shot sar let me physically restrain her (talk about a moment in time), but we all sorta look---less than thrilled with life in general. my guess is we were made to wait for the photographer (the lovely and endlessly talented Grandma DTH) to take the shot before we were "released" to the back yard to play the rest of the day away.
[Antsy kids + surly teenagers + all being made to hold still and say "cheese" + no little K to distract the attention so the adults would give up with their efforts to get a family picture - a digital camera that would have got a better image of all of this = what our family looked like...at some point...on a holiday...or just holding a flag to keep ry still ... before March 1986]
which brings us around to Mid-March--El Camino hospital in Los Altos, CA early on a saturday morning in march 1986. A young father (41yrs old) and mother (38yrs old) leave their four youngest children in the waiting room to chat amongst themselves while they go about the business of getting the baby out, or--as we saw the morning before us: "making us wait" .
It was a different world back then my friends, even as I write this tonight from my recollection and notes, I think back to the "mood" in the waiting room (read: the vinyl bench outside the delivery room; probably just far enough away so we had to sit and entertain ourselves without mom and dad, but close enough that Dad could probably hear the screaming and fighting the four of us were bound to engage in as time passed whilst we "waited")
how old were the youngin's outside?
by my count we had an older redhead brother that was 12, watching his younger sisters (10 yrs old and 6 yrs old) and trying to not kill his little brother (8 yrs old). those boys knew how to get on each others nerves at LIGHT speed. and yet---also on the flip of a dime, the boys could be each others best friends. cause really--pickins were slim, it was either get along with each other or face the alternative of having to play with icky girls (and their sisters!!! no less) to pass the time.
and so we all waited
like silent little angels
or at least we didn't break anything. probably.
and split a box of oatmeal cookies in between us for our morning meal. which was probably proceeded by LOTS of discussion on fairness/quantity/splitting/bargining and overall--having to share with siblings when you're "waiting" was like beYOND difficult for us kids. (of course it was...or how else would my recollection be so vivid with a vinyl couch and oatmeal cookies!!!)
moving on
Mom labored
young kids died from boredom. we didn't quite "get" why it was taking so long to get that baby out. cause if we were at the hospital, couldn't THEY just make her come out?
what's with all the waiting???
and our older brother and sister were like so lucky and got to go to their soccer games and THEN drop by the hospital--the first born son (15 yrs old) and miss J (13 yrs old) had soccer games AFTER (read=they did NOT have to wait the longest on the vinyl) or it could have been before the baby came that they stopped by. they were in and out in my memory. and whatever--I KNOW they didn't have to wait as long as the youngest four did. typical. and the youngest four(for a few more minutes) shall lead them....
Well---i'll leave out some additional details, since I really haven't got my releases of information in order for all family members that were involved, but...at some point...before...dark....the G-fam caboose made her arrival.
I still recall the tiny-est little bit of nothing that I've ever held when I got my turn to hold the baby (unnamed) for my whole time; protecting her as only a sister could--i'm sure they had us hold her in turns. had to protect her from boys on both sides. i tried to channel as much sisterly love as i could while i held her and wondered...
and then floated on clouds afterwards.
and so? the caboose had arrived. all the siblings breathed a sigh of relief. Mom looked pretty good, and now we got to take home a baby to play with!
we tried to not notice the fact that she was the only non-redheaded girl (daughter) in the fam, but...we figured we could always color her hair with a sharpie or something. I figured. yes. it was me---correcting the blonde to the red didn't seem like TOO much of a challenge.
but....
my dad and mom were so not buying the "just name her afton too!!!!" request that it occurred to me, my newly expanded family unit may have come upon our first major challenge with this baby.
she needs a NAME
the following is an reenactment of the brilliant naming ceremony that was held shortly after mom and dad got home with the new baby girl. yes. i know i've taken some liberties with my memory and recall--but really--it reads a lot better if I remember it THIS way....
me, as the middle child on this momentous occasion, have nearly forgiven mom and dad for NOT naming my baby sister Bridgett or Megan; I’m sure if they would have offered up “k” initially, I would have totally supported that name, and I wouldn’t have had to tax my 10yr old brain to come up with the suggestions that they ASKED us for! Like they had run out of ideas!!!! Too many children to name...tired mom and dad….Siblings to the rescue!!!…name the unnamed baby!!! After all the work that I’m sure we (didn’t) do as kids….soon came the morning announcement shortly after her birth:
“ The purpose of this morning family meeting is to go over the kitchen garbage emptying requirements and rotation order! That tall kitchen garbage should be emptied each and every NIGHT!!!"
wait
sorry
wrong morning...ah yes ...here it is...
"I'd like to thank you all for your naming suggestions, your mother and I appreciate your love and concern for the baby, and we would also like to offer some feedback on some of the "input" we received from you
First off, Sar, we won’t be naming her black beauty OR the black stallion….and no Ry and Tay—even if you double up your “voting privileges” , she won’t be called princess leah OR smurfette
Further, J, we think she could be teased a little if we name her after any member of the Duran Duran group (mostly cause they’re all boys) and lastly, A, yes, we know you are the first born son, but we are NOT naming her after your girlfriend Genevieve.
[readers note-I left out myself…since I am SURE that my suggestion was the only legitimate one that was discarded]
and this shall be her nickname [K]. *for all the brits out there, it rhymes with Simba :-)”
Dad gets to the end of his speech, glad that the bad news/good news situation is now over--and now, a little Q & A, and then we can commence with the day!!!
but. he's met with silence.silence? but all the children are in one room??!?!? and it's the nicest room in the house!!! the one where they usually make the MOST noise and start the most FIGHTS over NOTHING!!! what the....(dad...loves his children--but knows that complete silence from 6 G kids...can only mean..."issues" building before the storm of words and "discussions" on love at home)
[sibling processing silence and thinking internally in the same collective mental space]
reality of the NAME/NICKNAME combo sets in. for us all.
well, if she has to be raised with at least EIGHT people telling her what to do…I suppose she’d better get all the upfront individuality she can. Name AND nickname. Ok. Fine. Yes—she may need the extra leg up ]
Naming rights and opinions aside, we needed a baby to practice taking care of, taking responsibility for
...and it HAD to be a child that would be made of pretty sturdy stuff; and sturdiness is present in the form of our K, it has been there since the beginning;
sometimes it’s tricky for her to remember—since she’s so humble and things—but if you remind her of how she’s a solid girl and how she always keeps moving forward and pushing herself and those around her towards excellence, which is the only TRUE measure of sturdiness of character.
we know. we all got lucky 23 years ago in that hospital. We got the caboose to the family that we never knew, we always needed.
And now? just cause I can....a few snaps:
I know little K, you're THRILLED!
---
how bout--I PROMISE to never wear my hair like this again if you PROMISE that you will try and match your polka-dotties. (but, can't deny that you DO look stylin'!! even if you ARE only picking up your older sister from girls camp drop off; who knows WHAT got my expression so serious. but...this snap captures the polka's--don't miss the secondary one, even though the primary focus is a little...mesmorizing...AND if you look close? you'll note that K even has a matching purse....[collective--aahhhwwwwhhhhh!!!]
---
and I PROMISE to only be your teacher on stage. in a hoop skirt. two days before your birthday...1993. but look how straight your back is!!!! and betcha you can't even tell that we're sisters--cause we're ACTING...and we're THAT good!!! (and our only time to share a stage? yes. i think so)
----
I also promise to keep posting pictures where I get to revise the historical context for my own amusements, and as I find it necessary to make a point.
speaking of which...
Voice of responsible adult working the bribe for smile/picture combo that is always a winner...a flash of brilliance on how to best engage three kids under 3 occurs, and the visualization is offered for their expressive faces to ponder on and then reflect back at the photographer---
"ok little cousins...sit there on the front steps and visualize your potential future...some day...far far away...auntie K will house you in London during your year abroad to find yourselves; your parents will miss you. But you'll have an adventure with K!!!"
"and she'll also teach you spanish cause that's how she found her british man!"
"ok. maybe we should have the british man do the espanol education, but he can still give it to you while you find yourself abroad!!!"
:-)
but they look so HAPPY ~~~dreaming of their visit to England...someday...
well, probably a more accurate observation of their expressions:
-Elisa will believe it when she sees it,
-Amy is totally psyched, but she has no idea why exactly...
-and then there's the lovely Miss Wav, our gentle smiling realist-optimist and ray of sunshine that pulls off the wining-est expression of joy and happiness--at visualizing her year abroad (she must be an adventurer at heart; her parents have raised her well!)
*sigh* sweet little "can't resist it" faces...and they sure do love their Aunt K.
Thinking of you on your day,
Happy Birthday K!
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