By Bonnie
The last time I posted, I talked about the birth of the twins. Well, Sidra's birth was rather dramatic as well! When the twins were only 7 months old, we came home from work one day and I just could not keep my eyes open. I laid down on the bed and zzzz'd out for a couple of hours. Finally it dawned on me that I had felt that way once before... when I was pregnant with the boys. So, I told Jack that I thought I was pregnant again, and he said, "I think I'm leaving!" He was kidding however and we were so busy with work and the twins, that the time went by rather quickly. Jack was in radio school too at the time, taking classes after hours to be a D-Jay on KCBQ back in the day. Sometimes he'd stop on the way home and buy us a couple of Hostess Individual pies and I'd get up from bed and we'd sit on the loveseat and chat about the future. It was exciting! During the day after I quit to have our daughter, I'd type up letters for him for the various radio stations across the country. We had an old typewriter, but it still worked in spite of the shenanigans that boys pulled with the ribbon and wrapping themselves up in it! But it was our plan that I'd quit my job when Sidra was due, and I mean quit altogether! We had hoped Jack would be accepted by one of the stations and make lots of money and I wouldn't need to work. But such was not the case. I quit my job before we realized what would happen to us if he didn't get picked up. It looked as though Bankruptcy loomed on the horizon. I had put cards in the Civil Service Commission job site and hoped for the best. There was no way I would be able to stay home now. While I was pregnant with Sidra, I didn't have morning sickness like I did with the twins. The time flew by and before I knew it, I was having a labor pain on the way home from my parent's house and I was worried and afraid. I remembered the difficulties with the first baby and I just knew it would be the same with this one. I went in on a Tuesday and they did the usual check's. The next morning, after Jack left for work, they called from the Doctor's office and told me I had acetone in my urine and they wanted me to come in and let them induce labor. She was 2 weeks past due anyway and it was bad for her. So, I called Jack, and he got off of work and came flying home. We went to my Mom's house to take the boys to them to watch them and Jack and I headed for the hospital. Once there, I saw a different doctor, but he did an ultrasound and determined she was in the right position. "Are you ready to get this over with", he asked. "Yes I am!", I answered and he told me to go to Maternity and I was signed in and prepared to deliver our daughter. The labor hadn't started, so they broke my water and then the fun began. Sidra was more than ready to be born. They hooked me up to the monitor and disappeared. The pains started not long afterwards but they were really strong, not mild at all. At one point, I screamed because I thought she was going to be born right there in the labor room and fall on the floor! The nurses came running and asked what was wrong. Then I told them she felt like she was ready to be born and they checked the monitor and sure enough I was dialated to 8 centimeters already and I hadn't even been there for an hour! So different from when the twins were born. They took me to the delivery room and this time Jack was dressed in a gown and cap and gloves and they ushered us both into the room. After they gave me a saddle block, I began to push her out as the nurses helped me to sit up slightly and push. She was 8lb 14 oz and was 22 inches long! She was beautiful! They wrapped her up after they cleaned her up and they handed her to her Daddy. Then they gave her to me, and I began to kiss her face and kiss, and kiss, and kiss! I couldn't get enough. She had darker skin and black hair and I thought at first she was going to take after my Grandmother, who was of Cherokee descent. They took me to the recovery room and disappeared with Sidra & Jack both. He left to go get something to eat and they eventually took me to a room and tucked me in bed and I fell asleep. Around 2:00 in the morning they brought the baby to me and I got to hold her and feed her. Then I put her on my pillow on her tummy and I laid down beside her and put my hand on her tiny back to keep her close to me. Jack came back the next morning and I had showered and put on a gown and robe, and had cleaned the baby up. I didn't go home until the next morning. But I felt fine. Then things returned to normal with me being home with the kids and Jack going to work. But I knew that I needed, we needed as a family, for me to go back to work. I started looking for work with Civil Service again as that was the majority of my work experience. One day when the kids were playing and whooping it up, the phone rang. I answered and a man said to me, "This is Dennis Godfrey with the IRS." My heart fell to the floor. What now I pondered and waited for the axe to fall. "Are you still looking for work?", he asked. "Yes" I replied and he told me if I could find a sitter and come down to the Federal Building, that we could do an interview that very day. I got on the phone and called Jack's Grandmother Helen and she was willing to come and babysit and let me use her Duster to go down for the interview. I found some money for parking and changed my clothes and fixed my make up and hair the best I could. After all day with 3 little kids, I looked a fright! But soon Grandma Helen showed up and I got the keys from her and drove down to the Federal Building. I parked and crossed the street and took the elevator up to the 3rd floor. I went in to the office and was greeted by an empty desk with a phone on it. Then a man came walking from the right side behind some partitions. "Are you Bonnie?" he said. "Yes, I replied and he indicated for me to follow him back behind the cubicles. He did the interview, told me he liked the fact I had used all four of my names, and he had pulled every card he could find from the files downstairs and was impressed. After the interview, he told me what my duties would be. I'd be working for Revenue Officer Group 15 as a secretary, and doing work for him as well. There were about eight of them and they would also be getting in trainees to learn the ropes. Finally, he said, "Well, when can you start?" I told him Monday, and he liked that response as well and I had a job! When I got home Helen was delighted that I'd found work. I let her go home and paid her for watching the kids.. Sidra was such a good baby and rarely cried and that made life a lot easier. The twins didn't sleep all night till they were 3! It was awful! But we made things work out like we always did, and I rejoined the work force the following Monday and we were going to be OK. Not that I wanted to work, but we had to have the money and the kids were so little that if their needs were met, they should be ok. My parent's were out of the question as possible care givers for the boys. They had done a lot to separate us and I wasn't in a hurry to get started back in the same rut. We found a friend's wife that we worked with and she watched the boys and Sidra as well. She was a plump and jolly sort and loved babies. Many evenings I'd get there and she would be in her rocking chair holding both of them! Life as we had known it changed dramatically after we had children. It did get easier the older they got. They loved playing with their Dad and Sid always wanted her Dad to hold her if she was sick. The house was full and the kids seemed to be none the worse for wear. We eventually moved on to live in Spring Valley because of Alex''s asthma and I'll go into that more next time. The memories are sweet and it is so great to be able to recall so much of it. It's rolling up to 6:00 in the evening and I hear the pots and pans trying to get out of the cupboard, so I think it's time to cook once more! I'll leave this for you to read, and I hope you get a little insight into the workings of the Tyler Clock! Enjoy!
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This is for the grandkids, the family, close friends, and anyone else who can keep a civil tongue in their heads! It amounts to an interactive book of memoirs, but only if you interact... so get to it!
E-mail subscriptions now availableBonnieCalifornia has been my home since 1965. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I'm home to stay! JackWhat is there to say about a ten-year old turning 65, besides, what the hell happened?!?? CategoriesArchives
December 2014
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