I started out in this world with quite a bang. My mother was pregnant with me, and about 8 weeks before I was scheduled to be born, she woke up in the middle of the night with flu-like symptoms.   As she was putting on her pants to go to the emergency room, she had a stomach pain, her water broke, and I was making a grand entrance! Needless to say, they called the police for help and my mother made it back to the bed.

I was delivered on a Monday, at home, by police Sgt. Johnny Mazzacavallo and volunteer firemen.  I am also told that the ambulance man even fainted!

Years later, I asked my mother what her labor was like.  I think I was not only wondering about that very important day in my life, but also what I might be in for later, when I had children.  She simply said, “Did you ever shoot a gun?”  Yikes.

I was about 8 weeks early and just under 4 pounds.  I was about 12″ in length.  My father would hold my head in his hand and my feet would barely touch the crease in his elbow.  I did not have hair for a very long time – my mother would tape a bow on my head because she was tired of people coming up to her and saying, “What a cute little fellow”, even though I had a pink dress on!  I eventually had blonde hair to go with my hazel eyes.  (The picture above still shows very little hair and I’m over a year old.)

With an entrance like that, my parents were told that they might not be as lucky the next time as they had lost a baby prior to my birth.  They decided that I would be it.  Their little one and only.

Today’s post comes from the Second Prompt for The Book of Me, Written by You.

About The Book of Me, Written by You:
The excerpt below is taken directly from Julie Goucher’s blog, Anglers Rest.  It is by no way, shape or form, written by me.  She gets all the credit.

The Book of Me, Written by You
By Julie Goucher 2012 –

Anglers Rest Blog – http://www.anglersrest.net 
Website http://www.anglers-rest.net

“The Book of Me is a themed event enabling you to build a “Book of Me” over at least the coming year to share with your descendants, in reality this project can be as long or as short as you want it to be.  So much of our time is researching our ancestors, but how much of the incidentals of our lives do we share, or know about our parents, grandparents, siblings and the people that matter to us?  It is these incidental snippets that enable us to “flesh out” our ancestors and what more of a legacy could we present to our descendants or future researchers?  Over the coming weeks there will be a weekly prompt enabling you to share those details and perhaps include details of things that you know of your parents, Grandparents, siblings etc.  This is not just about genealogy or family history.  It is about a personal journey; a journey of rediscovery of yourself and perhaps your loved ones through your eyes.”