My Cindy is 53 Today!

It's hard to believe that my #2 baby is 53 years old today.  I remember the day Cindy was born so clearly.  The pregnancy had gone normally until about 6-7 hours before the birth when my water broke all over the livingroom hardwood floor.  With Kim, the water broke in the hospital so this was a big surprise to me.

Dennis rushed me to St. Joseph's hospital and handed me over to the nurses who whisked me away from him as was the routine in those days.  No husbands or family were allowed to stay during the labor or delivery.  In due time I realized that something was terribly wrong with the labor but, of course, no nurse or doctor told me what the problem was.  The pain was much different than I'd experienced with Kim...sharper and much higher on my stomach.  It turned out that the cord was wrapped around Cindy's neck but I didn't find that out until after she was born.  It still irks me how patients were treated in those days and how we felt we had no recourse.

I remember many doctors and nurses being ushered in to observe but no-one seemed to do anything to lessen the pain I was in.  I also remember one nurse saying that giving birth meant that you gave up all pretense of modesty.  I'm assuming she was referring to the number of people in the room examining me.

I don't remember the actual birth but I do know that the first time I saw Cindy she was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen in my life.  She had no name when she was born because Dennis and I couldn't agree on one.  I wanted "Lisa" but we quickly agreed on "Cindy" because it didn't seem right for a baby to be nameless.

Cindy was always my most active child, getting into unbelievable messes that taxed me greatly.  She was a climber.  She once drank turpentine.  She got a clothes hanger hooked into her eyelid.  She stuck a cherry pit up her nose.  She beat up her sister, Kim, and the neighborhood boys.  All of this while still a little girl!  She certainly kept us on our toes but now I can laugh about it.  I love her with all my heart!

Happy Birthday to my precious girl!