cicely

14 years ago today I birthed a daughter. 14 years and two days ago I started labouring with the birth of my first child. It was a Monday morning, about 2 am when it started. After dinner I went to the hospital because I was tired of it. They said go home and here is a shot of morphine for your troubles.

Tuesday, after dinner, I went back to the hospital and told them to make this thing happen because I wasn't about to be in labour for the rest of my life. They broke my water and told me I would deliver by midnight. I was 5 centimetres. At midnight I was still 5 centimetres. At 4 am I was still at 5. At 8 am..... still 5. If they hadn't delivered her themselves I'd still, 14 years later, be 5 centimetres dilated with this stubborn child.

As the doctor was examining me for the last time before she made a final c-section decision she determined that the baby was in a brow presentation and would not deliver. She looked at me and said "this is really exciting. This is rare. And since this is a teaching hospital would you mind, too terribly, if I had some students come in and examine you since they may never see this again in their entire careers?"

I'd been up for two straight nights so my answer made perfect sense. "Sure. Why not?"

A few minutes later 6 student doctors came in and one by one they all stuck their hands up my..............I don't really need to finish this sentence do I?

The last one was so excited by the whole experience that I asked him to leave the room and never ever come back.

I'll save the c-section experience for a different post entirely. It was traumatic. Seriously ridiculous.

The point is..............

Cicely Zara was born. 8 lbs 6 ozs. With a fat, bruised, swollen, distorted face. The doctors called her Mr. Magoo. Rude.

It was love at first sight.

She has been an angel ever since. Except, obviously, for the times when the teenage Cicely comes for a visit and terrorizes the joint.

But that hardly ever happens.

Cicely is an amazing sister. Her siblings are lucky and I wish they could know just how lucky they are to have her here looking out for them.

She is an obedient daughter who serves at every turn. She is a loyal and trustworthy friend and she tells us all the time that if we would just stop making her move around she might actually have some friends.

We are trying to oblige. Trust me.

She is funny and beautiful and she loves to dance. She is devoted to the things she feels are important. She home schooled for grade 8 (long story) and I have never seen anyone work that hard. She put herself through grade 8. Who does that?

She always, always puts my needs before her own. She never, ever complains about anything (whose daughter is that anyways?) and she never asks for anything.

She is a dream.

She also hates getting her picture taken individually but will pose with her siblings at anytime. She is a tad strange on occasion.







What she doesn't know is that I have stealth iPhone skills and have managed to take some pretty awesome pictures of her.





Seriously though, she is 14 now which means she can learn to drive and go to church dances. But the real question is.......

.....will any of us make it out alive?

Just kidding. I'm sure we will. She's a great kid and I am one lucky mama.

Happy birthday Cicely. I love you.