The spring of my junior year Mama and Daddy called me and Jared (my brother, 3 1/2 years younger than me) out into the living room. They had something to tell us. We listened intently as they told us that we were going to have a little brother or sister.
My first reaction was laughter. Me and Jared literally fell out on the floor laughing.
My second reaction was of irritation. I had been trying to talk those people into giving me more little brothers and sisters for years. Geez...this was not the time. I would be out of the house in the next couple of years. That reaction lasted all of 2 seconds though...and it's not like they had really planned it or anything either.
I then went into cautious mode. I was super excited, but I knew that pregnancies sometime ended in miscarriage. And let's face it, Mama wasn't a spring chicken after all (she was 2 months shy of 40 when she delivered). But, as the months went by, even that cautious mode faded.
On the night of Dec. 4th (a Wednesday night), we came home from church and Daddy was driving out our driveway. He said that he was taking Mama to the hospital. The only problem with that story was that Mama wasn't in the vehicle with him. We asked him if he was serious and he just laughed, saying that he was joking.
At 3am that morning though, he came to my door and said the same thing. I woke out of a dead sleep and said, "Whatever, you are not." He laughed and told me to look at the clock. He wasn't joking at that time in the morning and I realized it was for real.
They went to the hospital. A little while later, my aunt came and got me and Jared and we went too. We waited and waited and waited. Around 1:30 or so that afternoon me and Jared had to go. We had a basketball game that night and needed to go so we could make it to that. At this point in my life, it seems really crazy that I left the hospital that day for a basketball game, but that's just the way it was. Anyhow, I think he was born at something like 2:09. We just missed it.
We went straight home from the hospital to get our stuff for the game. We got the call from Mama and Daddy there telling us that it was a boy weighing 6 lbs. 9 oz. (he was the smallest of us 3 babies, but he was also a couple of weeks early). They asked us if we still thought Tucker was a good name. We said yes and Tucker Lendon Madden it was.
He quickly became our favorite thing on Earth. He was a fun little guy and we always wanted him to go everywhere with us. It was so great at that age (I was 17 1/2 when he was born), basically having all of the advantages of a grandparent...I could play with him all I wanted, but when he got fussy, back to Mama he went.
He's all grown up now, but he's still a ton of fun...SO MUCH fun.
Oh, how we love that Tucker Lendon Madden.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCKER!!
2 comments:
I never make a comment on Michawn's blog because I don't want the whole world to know my comment. I usually just email her. This is one comment that I don't care who knows though. Michawn is right. He did become our favorite thing. I think of him daily and wish I could see him daily. I think I tell somebody something about him everyday . I can't even hardly remember what our life was like before he was born. He is so much fun. Love ya little brother, Happy Birthday.
I really didn't not have one foot at death's door! I am still alive and kicking - I'll be 55 in February. The birth of all our children was very special. Douglas just knew Michawn would be the next Miss America (after she lost that "wrinkled" look). Then Jared was a big fine boy. We named him after Douglas and Douglas' daddy. They were so special and so loved. We had fun with them through every stage of their lives. The little league, the basketball, the church programs, family fellowship - just EVERYTHING! Then Tucker was given to us as a special gift later in life. We got to enjoy it all over again. Another chance at parenthood. He wasn't loved any more than the others but we got to experience life with him and watch the other kids interact with him. Such special gifts - children are a gift from the Lord. Yes, Tucker is fun.
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