Our youngest daughter with her dad.
Many people find the last week in December a change of pace after all of the holiday planning, cooking, wrapping, visiting, and shopping. The kids are starting to settle down (at least a little bit since Santa has come and gone), and the hectic pace gives way to a slower, more relaxed time.
But that doesn’t seem to be happening at our house — and it hasn’t for a long time. We find that the last week of the year has us scrambling as we shop and plan for lots of events during this time. Of course, December 25 is the highlight of our week, but it kicks off a barrage of other celebrations around us.
December 29 is our wedding anniversary – yep, we decided that getting married right after Christmas at the young age of 18 would be a fun thing to do. We were between semesters in school and so “in love” that we just couldn’t wait. I think back on that decision and wonder how my mother kept her sanity during the busy holidays. This year we celebrate 38 years of marriage and it’s been an incredible journey. It’s a very special day for us and it was the same day my parents were married back in 1951. My mother has passed away but I still remember my parent’s wedding anniversary every year right along with ours, and I realize how blessed we were to have parents who were so happily married for 56 years.
December 31 is New Year’s Eve for everyone and it comes with its share of parties, dinners, and lots of other festivities. But it is also one of the most special days of the year for us for a different reason. Our youngest daughter was born on December 31 and we have a fun celebration every year — she says the whole world celebrates her birthday! I am always reminded each year of one particular moment that occurred on the day she was born.
More than 10 hours into labor, the doctor walked into the labor and delivery room. Keep in mind that my husband is a Certified Public Accountant and Financial Planner, and he is always thinking in “numbers”.
The doctor began to update us on what he thought would be the estimated time of arrival of our new bundle of joy. “We can wait a while and this baby may come after midnight – or we can give you some medication to speed up labor and it is very likely the baby will be born before midnight.”
I saw the gleam in my husband’s eye as he began calculating. The first baby of the New Year would come with lots of fun prizes, money for college, and other things — our city always celebrates that first birth each year with plenty of gifts. OR, we could speed up the labor with medication and the baby would be born before midnight, giving us a nice little tax exemption just for being in this world for a couple of hours or even minutes!
I looked over at my husband who was obviously calculating the benefits of each option and weighing them heavily. As he turned to say something to me and the doctor, I quickly cut him off. “Don’t even speak to me right now — I really don’t care what you have to say about this situation! It will be best if you leave the room.”
Fortunately, our daughter quickly decided to make her entry into the world at her own preferred time — which turned out to be 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. I’m not sure if it was the thoughts of having to wait until January 1, the excitement of New Year’s Eve, or the fear she felt when I lashed out at my husband, but I’m glad she decided to “speed up labor” all by herself!
So for those of you who are enjoying a leisurely end to the year, have fun! As for us the last week of the year, we’ll be “celebrating like it’s 1999″ for the rest of our lives!
