It was almost midnight on a stormy pitch black night, and her baby was coming. The daddy had gone out to get the Dr while the mother labored at home with her other 4 children. She moaned at times from the pain and prayed the dr would make it in time.
In that day, drs made house calls, sometimes arriving in a horse and buggy because gas and money were scarce in the early 50s after the War.
Soon, the young mother heard the buggy pull up. He was an old country Dr and the only one still making house calls. He arrived soaked but ready to help deliver her 5th baby.
The children were shushed out of the front bedroom and the Dr was left with the mother. The oldest girl, who was 12, boiled some water for the Dr and tried to be helpful. 12 yr olds knew how babies were born from watching the cows on the farm, so she wasn't frightened so much as worried. She had 3 younger brothers and was praying mightily for a girl to be born. She wanted a baby sister to mother so desperately. And this was another chance for that happening.
Finally the time was here. She wasn't in the room but she could hear her mother's breathing getting heavy and small moans escaping so as not to scare the children. Not only children were seen and not heard in those days. Wives were silenced most of the time too.
From the closed door, the oldest girl could hear that the time was getting close. The dr was saying, "just a lil more. It's almost here."
A baby cry was heard in the house as the midnight hr struck and the baby was born. It was over 7 lbs and healthy, which is the only thing people cared about in those days. Babies and mothers were still lost to death in childbirth. When a healthy one was born, it was a time for thankfulness and answered prayers.
The girl could hear the Dr say from the other room, "it's a girl" and a deep smile filled her face. She finally had her own lil baby doll to dress and love. Finally the Dr called the girl in to see her baby sister.
There was a huge discussion about her name. All of the other kids had Lee as a middle name and the oldest brother thought Suzy Lee should be her name but her daddy wasn't on board with that. This girl was gonna have a family name from the Maternal line, instead of all of the others following the paternal line. They thought about the names that ran in the mother's side. Rosanna and Mary Ann Carnley, Elizabeth Ann Mccurdy and the name Ann became the middle name of this girl child. She was a fair child with light hair like her 2nd oldest brother, Clif. He was the only child born so far with blonde hair and blue eyes and it looked like this light child would be his twin. The family was really happy about the addition of another girl so this 5th child was named Gloria Ann, instead of Suzy Lee.
Later on in the girls life, she was very unhappy that Gloria was her name, instead of Suzy. Lol. She had even asked her daddy, why didn't her brother LeeRoy get to name her Suzy and the standard reply was, daddy didn't like it. That was that. The daddy's word was law and the girl child had to come to terms with her name. At different times in her life, she went by her middle name Ann or Annie, which she liked very much.
Her older sister told her about her birth and how happy she was to have a baby sister and how devastated she was to leave her behind when she married at 19 and her girl was 7. She thought her heart would break clean into because she wouldn't be there protecting the lil girl anymore. Life goes on and not all children are saved from hardship. This time was no different from those times.
The lil girl walked at 7 months, read at 4 or 5 and traveled in her mind until such time traveling became a way of life.
Today Kimmee is long grown but this morning, the memory of her birth came forward, as told by her sister, long ago. She still wishes her name was Suzy but also lives the moniker Kimmee bestowed in the 90s.
Postscript. My Mom is gone since I was 25, but I'm so thankful that she had me. I wish that I could remember lots of times that she was kind to me but only two times come forward. I remain grateful for those.
My daddy passed when I was 33 and an orphan was born. It was then that I started writing the stories of my family and I've continued that since. I was thinking about the lil ole gal that was me this morning and the time of my birth happened. I was barely born on the 9th on a rainy, stormy night and those storms followed me most of my life. I guess sometimes we can't outrun the storm and just have to embrace it.
I love you for being here with me and send a big warm hug for all of us born long ago and navigating this thing called life. It's not ever easy but nothing worth having ever comes easy.
Always, Kimmee