Hoppy Day!

Today's card is a very special card.  It's my son's birthday card.  He turns 6 tomorrow - Wednesday, May 18th.  He was born on a Wednesday at 5:55 p.m. after I was in labor for 20 hours.  I had an epidural at 5:55 a.m.  (or thereabouts).  

I went into labor on Tuesday night about 10:00, the day before I was going to be induced, so we were getting ready for the family to descend on us arrive. I was dusting the furniture upstairs when I stood up and my water broke.  I thought I had peed my pants, and was mad I had one more thing to deal with before bedtime.  After I realized that I hadn't, I was relieved, and called to my husband to get the phone and call the doctor.  My husband was as cool as a cucumber throughout the entire experience.  That was his Method of Operation.  He hardly ever got frazzled at anything.  He was an engineer, logical thinker, analytical.  

We arrived at the hospital, checked in and got settled.  I tried to go as long as I could with natural labor, but I knew from the beginning that I'd get an epidural.  After being up 7 hours in labor, we were both exhausted, and there wasn't an end in sight.  The doctor did the epidural in the dark.  That's how good he was.  We got some sleep and began calling friends and family later that morning.  They were all coming anyway, they just had to speed things up a bit.  I was upset that I hadn't gotten the pedicure I had planned to get.

I ended up having to have a C-section early in the evening.  The boy just wasn't going to go down any further than he already was, and my doctor was getting nervous about time.  My water had been broken too long and she wanted to go and get him.  He wasn't in distress or anything; he just needed another way out.

I will spare you the details of the surgery.  I'll just say that there were a couple of things that I wished someone had told me before I went in.  Now, anytime someone I know is pregnant, I tell them what I wish I had known, just in case they end up having a C-section.  

The first thing that my doctor said when she saw my son was, "Oh, Lee Anne, he has strawberry-blond hair!"  I said, "I know!!"  Even though I hadn't seen him yet.  I had dreamed two or three times that my little boy was a blondy.  Mother's know.  (It turns out that the cord was wrapped around the neck two times, which is why he didn't get any further.  Thank God I had a C-section!)

My grandmother used to say that when she was pregnant with my dad, she used to tell everyone, "I just want a son that looks just like his Daddy."  So, I continued that tradition and said it to everyone all the time.  My husband was handsome, so this would be a winning situation.  

The first thing my husband said to me after seeing our son was, "You got your wish.  He looks just like me."  Oh, I was thrilled.  And he did.  My husband's hospital picture and my son's hospital picture are almost identical.  It is frightening. 

Fast forward six years.  Here we are.  For those of you who have been around for the last few months, you can imagine that tomorrow is not going to be as happy as it should for me, but I will try to make the best of it.  It starts with a card in the morning, a present in the bathroom, one at the kitchen table, one in his carseat and so forth.  He'll be happy with the presents, but he's a pretty smart dude.  He knows something is missing.  He'll say something, no doubt.  But tomorrow is about being happy, not sad, right?

So, here's my son's card:

Inside:

If you've made it this far in the post, you probably don't want to know all the steps to make the card.  Suffice it to say that dies, impression plates, and punches were all involved in the process.  None were hurt in the making of this card, however.

I'm submitting this card to two challenges:  This week's challenge at Off the Wall Craftiness (again!) and this week's challenge at CAS-ual Friday(again!).  You should join in on the fun at both challenges!  I'm thankful for these challenges because they provided me with ideas and a starting place for this special card. 

Here's their inspiration:

 

Thanks so much for visiting My Happy Place!