Allen is 18 !!!

 18 years ago, my son Allen Arthur Nelson was born. That in itself is reason to celebrate. But the road to get to that event was paved with angst, stress, drama and horror.  We had trouble getting pregnant,
so we started seeing a specialist. It is no small road to travel when looking for reasons why no baby has happened. There are tests for both of you. There is lots and lots of waiting and seeing.
   When I finally did get pregnant after 8 yrs, it was the happiest time I can remember. For 21/2 months. Then, I started spotting. My 10yr daughter was horrified. We went to the clinic and the doctor said, " It looks like your threatening to miscarry !" I was put on bed rest for 4 days. OMG !!  That was THE worst time of my life. The bleeding stopped, and everything was going OK, until I started passing clots. I convinced myself I had lost the baby and became very depressed. My husband then insisted we go immediately to the doctor. The same doctor did an ultrasound. And, there he was, doing flips like a little fish. No more spotting problems occurred after that.
   5 months into the pregnancy, I developed gestational diabetes. I dealt with that like a champ and actually lost weight while I was carrying my son. After we found out he was indeed a he, the naming process began. We knew for sure he was going to be named after his male ancestors. So, Allen- Dave's middle name, was chosen for the 1st name after Allen's father. Now the middle name- Arthur- as luck would have it was Dave's fathers first name, my fathers middle name and if we called him Al as a nickname, that was after my Grandpa Latzke. So Allen Arthur Nelson it was.
  The last month and a half of my pregnancy I was leaking amniotic fluid slowly, but so slowly I thought it was a weak bladder. Dr Wasson decided to induce ( secretly, I think he suspected the fluid was gone ).
   After 2 1/2 hrs of 3 stages of contractions at once going on, Allen entered the world at 10:56AM.  I looked at Lindy and said Merry Christmas. The December before, she got an early Christmas present. A note telling her " We are going to have a baby ". She was in the delivery room and watched him come into this world. In fact Lindy saw Allen before Dave and I did. She has always loved him fiercely and protectively.
  So, celebrating the birth of my son brings back the flood of memories every year, but this year, is a little harder. He is now an adult. He can vote, be drafted into war, and even get a credit card. College isn't far behind. Wow, where did the time go ?

                                                                                

Blessings

The other day my favorite radio station asked, "Who is a blessing in your life ?"

Now, I was on my way home and had time to ponder on this question. I have so my "blessings" in my life. As a teenager with low self-esteem I often felt I'd live my life alone. As a young adult, I felt I'd burned too many bridges to live the life I had dreamed about.

So, my list of blessings starts with my husband. I met him at a really low part of my life. Things moved at lightening speed after that and we were married with a baby and a house. The 2nd and 3rd blessings are my children. I had known I always wanted children and was blessed with a girl, then a boy. My heart bursts with love and pride when I think of them. My daughter added my son-in-law to the mix and we love him just as much.

My parents are blessings in my life. The unknown lessons they taught me influenced who I am today. Now that we are all older, my parents have regrets. Life is full of coulda, woulda,shoulda's. But it is the path we all took that led us to where we are now. Don't all parents feel they could have done more for their children? In my mind a parent with some regret, did a wonderful job. If you have no regret you didn't try hard enough or just didn't care.

My siblings are blessings too. They,along with their families, are icing on a scrumptious cake that just keeps getting better.

Then the granddaughters ! They are the sprinkles on my cake, the marshmallows in my hot chocolate, the whip cream on my pie.They are my "gramma girls". They bring joy with them with every visit. On one trip, they asked me " Who is your favorite child, our mom or Allen ?" I said" I love them both the same." I explained that if my children were in a lake drowning and I could save them or me, I'd gladly die knowing they were safe. And then I told the girls," thats how much I love you ! I would happily die if it meant you would live" There have been no more questions like that since.

So my answer to who is a blessing in my life is , my family ! Materials things come and go, but your family will always be here !