31 Days of Life Stories #17

Today, I'd thought I'd share about when my sister was born.

The first inkling I had that we might be getting a new family member was an overheard conversation between mother and dad.

I always liked to sit on the side of the bathtub when dad was shaving and talk. He was gone so much that when he was home, I felt this was one way to get some of his attention. I heard the clink of his razor against the sink one day and headed that way to talk to him when I realized mom had gotten there before me. As I was coming up the hall, I heard them.

Mom was saying how embarrassed she felt sitting in the waiting room with all the younger mothers. Dad said something to the effect, "We can't do anything about that now. I'm sure there are older mothers having babies, too."

What??? I stopped in my tracks and considered what those words might mean. I spun on my heel and headed outside. I headed just like a homing pigeon for my Grandma Sybil. Now that we lived in Florida, I only had to walk two blocks to her house.

I told Grandma what I'd heard, so she got to be the one to break the news to me: our family was having a baby.

I'd be 12 and my brother would be 9 when the baby was born. I was ecstatic and immediately wanted a girl. I considered a new baby to be a gift to me. I envisioned all the fun I'd have feeding her, dressing her and playing with her. Tim, of course, wanted a boy. Since Dad was gone so much, he felt left out being the only guy. He hoped a little brother would even things out.

Dad really wanted another baby because he felt he could appreciate being a father much more in his thirties than he could in his twenties. He always said he planned to have Lora.  I guess Tim and I were accidents. :) I think mom was in shock her whole pregnancy.

And so we waited the birth with great anticipation. She would be called Lora Jean, or else he would be Marc Anthony. Dad, however, called the baby Engelbert Humperdinck until the birth.

Oh such excitement the night Lora was born! I was sooo happy but Tim cried because he didn't get a little brother. He cried, "Jerr always gets her way!"  

Later he realized that finally he got to be a big brother and I think he felt better about things.

Lora had big blue eyes so Dad promptly gave her the nickname of Buttons. He always liked nicknames so Tim and I already had one. I was Beady (short for Beetle - why would you call a little girl a beetle?) and Tim was Timmy-Tot.

Those were happy times for sure. Do you remember when your siblings were born (if you had any)? Did your parents give you nick-names?

This post is #17 in my series, 31 Days of Life Stories. Hundreds of writers are linking up at the 31 Day Writing Challenge hosted by Crystal Stine. There is a wealth of information on many topics. Go visit and see! I'll be posting under the category "Inspiration and Faith."