I’ve been slacking on my writing. I’m going to set that straight. I started Julia Cameron’s It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again at the beginning of June. This book has taken me back to writing Morning Pages. These have been particularly illuminating to me but much more on that later.

Today is all about my youngest. 22 years ago, Dan came into this world. While he was not due until August, my pregnancy with him was probably the hardest I have ever had. I had pregnancy-induced hypertension. In other words, my blood pressure skyrocketed during my pregnancy. My OB/GYN had tried everything to get my blood pressure under control. Treatment started with a baby aspirin a day. Then, he prescribed blood pressure medication. Then, he upped my dosage. Nothing stopped my blood pressure from getting higher and higher.

That Monday morning in 1994, the twins and Susan had started Summer Enrichment – a half day program that was, at the time, run through the Binghamton City School District. It was a way to enrich kids’ education along with stopping back sliding that occurs in the summer months. Ed had started soccer camp in Endicott and I was on carpool duty. I went in for my first thing in the morning appointment to questions about what I had eaten that morning. You would think after four previous pregnancies I would understand where those questions were leading but not me. I was shocked when my doctor told me to take care of my kids, make arrangements and meet him at the hospital. The baby was going to be born today.

This pregnancy was also when I realized how badly I had messed up my spine when I fell down the stairs in November. The anesthesiologist had issues getting a catheter in for the spinal as my lower vertebrae were so compressed. Joy! Thankfully, the last possible space worked as I didn’t want a general anesthesia for this birth. Been there, done that.

Anyway, all this leads up to Happy Birthday, Dan!