♥ Our Early Years

Backing up a little one of the first people in Rick's family that I met was his Aunt Bonita. She says when she met me she thought he'd robbed the cradle! If you remember earlier I'd said I was 25 years old when we met. I don't think that is cradle material! She is the absolutely sweetest woman you could ever meet. She is the closest person to a mother-in-law I have ever had. Don't get me wrong, I love Aunt Erma and feel very close to her too, but I met Aunt Bonita first. I loved them both from the first moment we met. And they both consider me their niece as much as any of their nieces. They loved his mother so very much. Lorene was the oldest of 5.

The picture attached here was taken at Aunt Bonita's surprise birthday party on Sunday before Rick went to the hospital. He did not seem so sick that day. I would not take the world for this picture. I purchased a frame with a primitive country theme with family on it and printed this picture and gave it to Bonita.

On with our story:

During our time in Massachusetts, we visited many historical areas of New England. We saw all of Concord, the North Tower, Salem and the house of seven gables. We went to Kennebunkport Maine on one trip. We were able to get close enough to see where Mr. Bush, Sr. was staying over the weekend with binoculars. We saw dozens of secret service agents all over that compound! They were on the roof, in the trees, walking the perimeter, cruising around the grounds. One of our favorite places to go was Brattleboro Vermont. The Green Mountains are there. WOW! It was beautiful anytime of year. There was an old barn that was converted to a hotel. We stayed in the "top floor" of the silo! It was great. There was an old church downtown that was as big as a castle and sort of reminded me of a medieval era building. It was beautiful. It had ivy growing all over the front of the building. Val, who was about 3 then, said, "look, mommy-a furry castle!" That became the name of where we were going anytime we went there. We also went to Gloucester Massachusetts (also known as Cape Ann) frequently. That is where the home of Gorton's fishery is as well as the statue of The Old Man and the Sea. It is also the home of the Hammond Castle which was the home of the man who built the first Hammond Organ. In the courtyard is a stone or marble statue of Mr. Hammond. He is naked with a removable 'fig' leaf strategically placed if you get my drift! Rick used to laugh every time we took that tour! The thing we liked most about living in New England was the proximity to the history of this great land! One thing I regret about our time there was we never went to Martha's Vineyard Island. I have seen it on TV a lot and may go there some day.

February 1990

We found out in November 1989 that Saturn Corporation would be hiring soon. Friends from Bowling Green were in Boston for a conference, and I took the train into Boston and met them for it. One of the friends had a brother in law who would be hiring for his team in the late winter. She took Ricks info and would let him know we wanted to be closer to home. Don't misunderstand, he had already put in for a transfer and it would have happened anyway, this just got the ball rolling sooner rather than later :) So, in February we made the long drive home to Bowling Green, my parents kept our daughter and we went to Columbia TN for a 3 day interview with both of us for his job at Saturn. We decided we were going to accept while we were there and we would be contacted by April with a start date. YAY we were going home!

You know, fate has to rear its head on occasion. Around the time of our trip we discovered we were going to be getting a second child. I was excited and afraid at the same time. I would be 31 in May, I had suffered 4 pregnancy losses over 4 years. This baby was past the point of the time frame of the miscarriages we'd experienced before! Hope! I wanted this baby so very badly. Guess when our due date was? October 11, 1990. (did you know that October 11 is John Lennon's birthday?) Guess when Rick's start date at Saturn was set for? October 16, 1990. Bummer. It would all work out in the end. Fate came a calling on September 24 at 6:30 pm (on my last day of work in Massachusetts EVER) while at a stop sign waiting for an opening to pull out my car was hit in the back end. I was pushed forward but managed to keep it out of traffic. Mr. Buzzard (my name for him) had a history of DUI. I never saw them check him for that. Anyway, he wanted to just leave me there. I made him give me his keys and walk about 1/4 mile to a restaurant to call 911. He was not a happy man when he saw I was pregnant (37 weeks then). The officer came, wrote the report and told me I was going to the hospital. I said I know, my husband will be here soon. He said no, the ambulance will be here in a minute! Ugh! Consider this: 37 weeks along, rigid neck collar (old time hard plastic LARGE) on, spine board and taped my head to it! FUN RIDE!!! Long story short, Nick was born 2 days later by emergent C-section after a small abruption was noticed. This means the placenta was slightly torn from the uterus by the forces in the accident. Nick was 8 pounds even and 20 inches long. Funny, my smaller baby is my "bigger" child now. Not that he is a child now.....anyway. Nick, Rick and I all got to move at the same time! YAY! During the C-section, this time with Rick present, we got to hear his first cries, Rick stood up and looked over the drape. He sat down so fast he almost missed the stool! He said he's all in a ball!

Nick was 2 weeks old, my OB let me go ahead and move with Rick. I saw the Dr. who delivered Val for my follow-up. Valarie was with my parents already while we were getting ready for the move. When we got to my parents house with the new baby, she was asleep on the floor. We let her sleep for a few minutes longer, let everyone coo and goo over him and then woke her and let her hold her brother. He brought her a teenage mutant ninja turtle doll as a get to know you present. It worked out.

Christmas 1989 Val got up early, looked under the tree, which had tons of presents for her, ignored them, looked under and behind the couch, under her bed, under ours, in all the closets, and I asked her what she was doing. She put those little hands on her hips and said, "silly Santa! I asked him for a baby brother for Christmas, where is it?" Well, Christmas 1990, baby brother was 3 months old. Christmas 1991 Val wrote:

"Dear Santa,
A couple of years ago I asked you for a baby brother for Christmas. This year, please just leave me a doll.
Love,
Valarie"

They really do love each other!

In January of 1991 I started work in the Surgical ICU at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. I learned so much there. I had always taken care of cardiac patients, and I could do that there, but surgery patients had never been my first love. It turned out that I actually loved working in SICU.

To be continued..........