An Earth Day Birthday celebrated 20 years later
Yesterday, a momentous event took place. I am no longer the
mother of two teenagers, and that’s because my eldest just turned
20.
Being down to one teenager seems like some kind of
accomplishment, although I couldn’t tell you why.
Ross was born on Earth Day 1990, which was not planned in any
way whatsoever. He was due to arrive on Tax Day and didn’t show up
when he was supposed to. Babies have a way of doing that.
An Earth Day Birthday celebrated 20 years later
Yesterday, a momentous event took place. I am no longer the mother of two teenagers, and that’s because my eldest just turned 20.
Being down to one teenager seems like some kind of accomplishment, although I couldn’t tell you why.
Ross was born on Earth Day 1990, which was not planned in any way whatsoever. He was due to arrive on Tax Day and didn’t show up when he was supposed to. Babies have a way of doing that.
My own theory is that Ross decided to stay right where he was because of an unusual geologic disturbance. Right around his due date, we had a series of strong earthquakes that rolled through Aromas. They may have been very belated aftershocks from the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, but in any case, they were very strong, and there were a lot of them that particular morning – six or seven, at least.
It just so happened I had an appointment with my ob-gyn that morning, and when the nurse took my vitals, she remarked, “Your blood pressure is sky high!”
To which I replied, “Gee, I’m not surprised.” There’s nothing like being nine months pregnant and having everything shaking around you. It does not exactly inspire peaceful easy feelings.
At any rate, nothing was happening in the baby department, much to my disappointment, because I was pretty anxious to get it all over with.
So a few days later, I ate pizza.
There was a rumor that pizza from a particular restaurant in Gilroy would induce labor, so that was my low-tech solution to getting the contractions started.
Whether the pizza did it, or something else, or Ross just got up the courage to come out into the world, he was born on April 22.
From the beginning, Ross was a surprise. He was a boy – first of the surprises – because I’d convinced myself that he would be a girl. I had to have a C-section – another surprise.
And he was an extremely large baby. Ten pounds, 13 ounces. Hence the C-section.
He looked like he was three months old when he was born. None of the newborn clothing fit. He was a giant compared to the other babies in the nursery, and it was a little embarrassing.
The hospital gave us a tree to plant, since he had been born on Earth Day. But I forgot the tree when we left the hospital a few days later. I remembered about a week after that, but when I went back to get it, the tree had died.
So much for saving the earth.
And then people told us, “Why’d you name him Ross? Why not Forrest?”
Forrest, because of Earth Day.
Well, I just couldn’t go for Forrest. Ross he was, and Ross he has remained.
And now that he’s at UC Santa Cruz studying marine biology, maybe he will be out there saving the earth someday.
Although the weeks surrounding his birth were a bit shaky, a bit confusing and strange, he was worth it. He is a wonderful young man, which is not just my opinion, but that of a great many people.
It’s just incredibly hard for me to believe that 20 years have gone by. I still have a photo from my first Mother’s Day, me holding my big baby and smiling into the camera. I look a lot more confident than I remember feeling at the time.
Somehow, it all worked out, with luck and love.
Happy Earth Day birthday, my son. The tree may have died, but you grew up just fine.
