This is the story of how she came about.
WAIT. WHOA. BACK THAT BUS RIGHT UP. I didn’t mean THAT. I didn’t mean I was going to go to the BEGINNING! Gross, that is between my parents and... my parents. EW. FORGET I SAID ANYTHING. SO. THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW I FOUND OUT EMMIE WAS ON THE WAY. Okay. That sounds pretty innocent, right? WELL GOOD, BECAUSE IT IS. Why am I yelling?
Okay, so here’s the story. It was the summer after I graduated from high school. I was working at the Enchanted Kingdom, a small-time theme park about twenty miles outside of town. Every day I was wearing a hideous, hot, fuzzy cow costume, trying to make kids smile. Most of them just cried. When I wasn’t in the costume, I was working behind the scenes, sorting garbage and recycling and doing all other kinds of icky stuff, but I didn’t really mind, because at least I didn’t have to wear a cow costume while doing it. This is called “looking on the bright side.” (I try, I really do.)
My dad was off for the summer (he’s a professor) and was working on an article. Actually, he’s always working on an article. He writes things for boring scholastic journals and stuff. They pay him, so that’s good, but honestly, it makes me cry to try to read them. They are SO. DULL. (Sorry, Dad.)
My mom, on the other hand, is always doing something different. She’s dabbled in card making, jewelry making, knitting, computer programming, home daycare-ing... and that particular summer, it was pies. Pie-making. I don’t know what started her on it -- or who thinks SUMMER is a good time to BAKE -- but that’s what happened. Caitlin and Oliver and I were all for it, though, because pies are most delicious, especially with ice cream on top, and my mom made good pies. Really good. She even entered one in the county fair, and won. So, you know... that’s cred, right there.
Towards the end of that summer I’d noticed my mom was gaining a little weight, but I didn’t want to say anything. I mean, I’d gained some too. No big. I just thought it was a result of eating too much pie. I was about to start college, and I was determined to spend at least two hours a week in the gym, then, so... well... I’d be okay. But my mom? Yeah, she was doomed to just keep getting bigger, as I would soon find out.
A few days before I left for college, my parents sat the three of us kids down and said the following: “Kids, we have something we want to tell you.” It’s alarming when this phrase is uttered by parents, and even more alarming the statements that can follow it. Really, what can come after something like THAT? Parents never just say, “Kids, we have something we want to tell you... we are going to the grocery store in an hour. Need anything?” No, “Kids, we have something we want to tell you” is always followed by something SERIOUS. Like:
A) We are separating, possibly getting a divorce.
B) One or more of us has a terrible disease and we are going to die shortly.
C) The bank has foreclosed on our house and we’re moving to the slums.
D) Your mother has been demoted and we’re moving to Saudi Arabia.
or E) We are going to have a baby.
Out of all those, which would YOU be the most grateful to hear come out of your parents’ mouths? Well, for me, I’m sorry, but it would have to be E. EVEN THOUGH I thought having twin siblings was enough. EVEN THOUGH I thought my parents (age 40) were too old to be considering such things. I knew that if they were going to spill some life-altering information, a baby was the lesser (lessest? least?) of all evils.
And how did we take the news? Well, keep in mind that when my parents sat us down for this talk, the twins were just 3 1/2. Oliver just sat there looking confused. Caitlin got all excited, ran and got her doll’s baby bottle, and brought it to mom, as if to say, “Here, you’re gonna need this.” And I just sat there shaking my head. Because, REALLY, PARENTS? You needed MORE CHILDREN?
Gus was the first person I told. He was actually pleased by the information, saying that now his nephew, Levi (then just an infant) would soon have a playmate. Levi and his parents, Gus’s brother and sister-in-law, live with Gus and his dad. It’s a small house and things are a little strained. But trust Gus to look on the positive side of everything. I thought it was kinda sweet.
Then college began. Gus and I went off together. Life became a whirlwind of papers, classes, books, parties, paintings (what? I’m an Art Major), late nights and tired mornings. I came home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, each time observing that my mother’s midsection had grown. The twins turned four in February, and not too many days after that, my mom went into labor and I got a phone call with the news -- Emmeline Rose; 8 lbs, 1 ounce, 21 inches long, yada yada. Through the power of the Internet, I got to see photos and video. She was adorable! I was so excited to get to finally meet her a few weeks later.
So that’s it. The story of Emmeline. And here's a video I put together of some footage we shot the other day!
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