The 4th of July is a big day in our family. We don’t just celebrate our country’s independence and the birth of a nation. We celebrate the birth of our son, Drew. Who arrived unexpectedly. And almost without warning.
At the time we were living with my mother while our home was being renovated. On July 3rd she left for an out-of-town wedding and our regular babysitter took a beach vacation. I went in for a checkup and was told quite clearly that our new baby would not be arriving for several weeks yet. Which meant plenty of time to bring the crib out of storage, buy diapers, and prepare to be the parents of a two year old and a newborn. We invited some friends to a cook out.
So when I woke in the wee hours of that July 4th with what felt like labor pains I assumed they were ‘false.’ I took several showers in an attempt to stop them. They refused to go away. By the time I called my OBGYN later that morning they were coming approximately four minutes apart. This, according to the doctor, made them real. As in, “I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Our Yankee Doodle Dandy was not only early, he was in a hurry. We grabbed up his two-year- old brother and raced to the hospital, arriving in what I still think of as ‘the nick of time.’
Every year as Americans across the country break out the sparklers and ooh and ahh over fireworks, we watch him blow out candles and look back on that mad rush to the hospital. Then we remind him how lucky he was not to be born at a red light or on his head in the hospital parking lot.
This July 4th with BEST BEACH EVER newly arrived in the world, I’m also taking a look back at Ten Beach Road, which is set on the beach where I grew up, and how it unexpectedly evolved into a series.
Take a look back with me here.
