Happy Birth-giving!!

I hope every one of you had a great day, whether with a gaggle of family, or a quiet break from work, it is a good day for giving thanks... and for giving birth, as evidenced by my cousin, Cammie!

Cammie gave birth on Thanksgiving Day, at 12:59pm, just as her Mom, my Aunt Grethcen predicted: "Right when the automatic timer in the turkey pops up, she will give birth."

I was lucky enough to be a part of the labor and delivery, and it was one of those "life moments" that I will never forget.

However, as all of you know- even though I can really get going on my "woman-power, sacred birth, divine womb" type of tangents.. I also cannot help but seek out the silly parts of life.. which led to me recording some of Cammie's awesome one liners during her labor, which I just had to type into my google phone, lest I forget...

Here are some gems of the evening:

"They're not real...'punctual' around here, are they?" -referring to Doctors and nurses saying they would be back at certain times.. hee hee

which soon led to

"Why do people keep coming in and out of here? I am NOT here for ANYONE'S enter-TAINMENT." - referring to the nurses, aides, and dr's who would show up randomly.

which let to my crowning favorite.. when she realized she'd be delivering on Thanksgiving day..

"I am seriously going to kick some turkeys in the FACE... if I see 'em." -after a particularly intense contraction, and over 24 hours of labor.

In all fairness, once she got her epidural, we had a blast and she progressed to 10cm within just a few hours. She pushed like a primal goddess.. and voila..

MILES TAYLOR FULLENWIDER MEYER!

Born at 12:59pm, Thanksgiving Day, weighing in at 6 pounds, 15oz, and measuring 21 inches long!

Some of you may know Cammie, some not, but she and I are cousins, and have a special bond.

Cammies dad, Bob-and my mom were brother and sister, AND Bob and my dad were best friends... so when they all had kids, we cousins were very close growing up. Jeff and I were a few years older than Cammie and Matt (7 I think) and so we were charged with the role of "older cousins" and loved every minute of it.

We spent every holiday, and darn near every weekend with them, for many years, and Cammie and I both had a special gift for being giddily devious, and we adored each other.

When my Uncle Bob was unexpectedly killed (by a drunk driver) Cammie was just 6 years old, (the age that my twins are now). At that point, our bond became one of survival. We were too young to know how to deal with the grief and shock and pain that were handed to us, we who were the "queens of silliness of mischief" in our family. When you hurt deeply, with someone, the bonds are almost unbreakable.

In our twenties, Cammie and I diverged onto seperate paths. We stayed loosely connected, but rode out the waves of our lives in different states, and in different styles. In our 30's we came back together as a family, and our bond was uncovered, and tested out, and renewed.

Being able to be a part of this birth was one of the absolute highlights of my life. Not only my connection to Cammie, but my new connection with Miles, her son- was just overwhelming for me. So many times as a young girl and teen, I swore softly to myself to always be there for her, to try and protect her, if I could. I wanted to stop this world from hurting my cousin. As many of you know, who have tried to be that for someone, life doesn't work that way.. you can't stop people from learning their own lessons, in thier own way. You can't dampen the gift of life by taking away the pain and growing opportunities that are thrown at us each year. I many times felt that I had let Cammie down, that I wasn't big enough of a "big cousin" to protect her. I never went to enough of her softball or volleyball games. I made choices that kept me from being part of many family gatherings while she was still young, and needed me.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to "be there" for her, in every way, and offer her everything I had to support her to have the best birth experience she could. I am deeply grateful to Todd, her partner, and Gretchen, her mother, for being gracious enough to allow me to take on a role that they had much more right to be in than I did. Not many moms and boyfriends are able to do that kindly and lovingly, and they both did. THANK YOU!

HAPPY BIRHTDAY MILES!!!

CONGRATULATIONS CAMMIE AND TODD!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, my wonderful friends- and my family!

-Jen