January 5th

Jonathan Spencer Daisson, 1 week old, 5lbs 14 ounces. We had to
strip him down to his diaper to feed him to keep him awake & alert
enough to eat. He only took 2 ounces at a time,

Well, I remember what I was doing on January 4th 16 years ago. I was laying on an air mattress in our living room with a backache so painful, I thought I was going to die. Of course, I was 20, and just a tad overly dramatic. Instead of dying, I slept nearly 24 hours straight, and I woke up on January 5th, realizing my water had broke, and I was in labor with my first child. I was so scared and excited at the same time. This baby wasn't supposed to be born for 5 more weeks, & I was terrified that the early birth would be a hardship for my baby. But I was excited too, because I had been in labor for nearly 5 weeks, and had to go to the hospital each time to have it stopped. I was tired emotionally & physically. 4 hours after my water broke, a baby emerged from my womb. As I laid there, in complete awe that I had delivered naturally and without complication despite having Cerebral Palsy, I heard the loudest cry I had ever heard! In less than a minute, I heard the doctor tell Stephen he had a son, & then they placed my baby son in my arms, & he opened his eyes, & looked into mine, & my life changed forever. He was perfect, & he was as healthy as though he had been born on his due date. The next day, Stephen & I took him home.




Fast forward 16 years. Last night, I sat in the passenger seat of Stephen's Dodge Neon as Jonathan drove on icy roads to meet with a Scout official to have his Eagle Project paperwork approved. I was nervous about him driving on the icy roads, & kept reminding him to drive carefully. On response, he revved the engine & laughed. Oh, how he loves to tease his mom! I laughed too & quit nagging him. We arrived at the scouting official's office & I sat in the car and waited. Once again, I was excited and nervous. Nervous, because last time he met with the man, he came out discouraged because he had to rewrite the paperwork. I was worried he would find more things wrong with it. But I was excited because I knew Jonathan had worked really hard on the rewrite & hoped it would be accepted. Jonathan came back, all smiles. The paperwork passed inspection & all that is left is a board of review! Now, Jonathan can start looking for a job and get his driver's license's. Again, because of him, our life is about to change forever. He is no longer our baby, but a mature young man who becomes more independent each day.
WE LOVE YOU JONATHAN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING YOUR EAGLE!