A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING!

Observation of the Day!

And so ends another Thanksgiving holiday, The Christmas season has officially begun. I think Thanksgiving is a wonderful week. It is more than the day of stuffing our stuffing. Everybody has something to be thankful for no matter how small. It is easy if you just put things aside for a moment to think.

This Thanksgiving week was most significant for your old Blogger. Little Eva Marie Reyna came into the world, eight pounds and one ounce.

Carolina had been in mild contractions for about two weeks. On Tuesday we went to the hospital because we thought the time had come. No, not quite ready. The doctor did some manipulation (hey, I'm a guy. What do I know?) I went to Carolina's house Wednesday and waited until she said go. And go we did. I got Maddie and Ricky ready and away we went to get a new sister.

It was a slow process, but things started to heat up. Carolina wanted me to take the kids home so they wouldn't see their mommy in pain. At 8:26 after about five hours intensive labor Eva Marie became a person. The pregnancy had been a difficult one, and the delivery was even tougher. She lost a lot of blood. The baby was born right on the due date. For what ever reason you don't see that very often. A full term with some weight seems to wipe out the prunish affect. She is gorgeous with lots of black hair under her beanie. Of course every parent and grandparent says that. Realistically, she just looks like a healthy baby. Babies are all beautiful. The only ugly one was on a Seinfeld episode.

The whole experience for Carolina has been hard. Of course the pregnancy itself was a surprise. She had vomited her birth control shortly after taking it. Boom! Boom! I was in California when I received her tearful call. She had actually considered for a brief period terminating the pregnancy, but her rational caring self ruled it out. I told her to look at her beautiful children. The baby deserves a chance. This whole situation from conception to birth has straightened my belief that all life begins at conception and a baby deserves a chance at life, no matter what the situation.

This was not the end of the difficulties. It seems that the placenta was in the wrong place at first. The situation eventually corrected itself, but the uncomfortable pregnancy continued. Next up was blood clot that could have become more serious if the doctor didn't diagnose the situation correctly. That was scary.

Carolina was always concerned about what was going to happen. When I went to San Diego in October, she confided in me that she had a vision that shook her. The vision intimated that we would never see each other again. At first my self-centered reaction was that she was concerned about my heart situation. I quickly realized she was talking about her own mortality. We made it back together at the end of October.

After Eva Marie was born, Carolina confided in me that she thought the baby would have a defect. She was scared. Eva Marie is not "defected". She is perfect.

Due to her blood loss and evening delivery, they kept her three nights. At 5:14 Saturday morning, I received a text message saying she had had a bad night and had cried much of the night. She then added, "Sam, I need you!". Wow! Those were the greatest words I could ever hear from a person I consider a daughter.

I went to the hospital to comfort her, When I approached the bed she hugged me and cried, It seems that a dark nightmare had scared her. I know that hormones probably played a role in this incident, but that doesn't make it easier.

After Maddie was born she did experience a period of scary postpartum depression, and I have always been concerned about that. After I told the nurse, she had the night resident stop by. He was an Indian with a pretty heavy Indian accent. However, ESL Carolina seemed to understand him better than she does me sometimes. There was some humor in his questioning though. He used very technical medical terms such as, "Did you pooh?" and "Did you pee?"

On Saturday afternoon Carolina. Raul. Luis, Ricky and Maddie took Eva Marie to her new home. Maddie now is the big sister rather than the supreme princess. We will see out that works out.

So you see why I have so much to be thankful for this 2008 Thanksgiving week.

I am thankful for all who have touched in my life.

Good Bless you all as we move forward into the season.

Sam