A Different Kind of Party

Sometimes a change of plans can be disappointing. 

But other times, it can mean that more wonderful things are going to happen...

Thursday the 18th of October, I was just getting in the mood for my halloween party. It had taken me a bit of coaxing to even agree to have another one this year. It's a lot of work. But once I pulled all the scary stuff down from the attic, I was almost looking forward to the bonfire, costumes, and assorted fall treats that a party would provide. I started decorating the garage, but put off doing too much until my kids came over to help.

My son and his wife -and one of my daughters and her fiancé -came in Friday night to help with the party and to be a part of the events. It was fairly late when they arrived, so the decorating was put off till Saturday.

I cooked a large breakfast casserole and we all ate an early (7 am?)breakfast in order to get things done. Sitting around the dining room table, we all looked tired and decided it might be a good time for a morning catnap so we would be refreshed enough to start setting up the cemetery, lighting, music, and tables.

My daughter in law was feeling kind of funny. Their baby was due to arrive around the first week in November, so we decided she needed to rest before the nights activities.

I was cleaning up the dishes when my son came quickly down the hallway announcing that her water had broken! Of course, we thought he was kidding. We had joked about having to cancel the party if the baby came early. But within minutes they were on their way to the hospital ( an hour and a half drive).

She was definitely in labor!

With a few quick phone calls, I got most of the guests contacted so they would not show up for a party that was not meant to be! 

Excitement was at an all time high at our household that day. I was a bit crazy and pacing the floors, but my husband ( who is always that calm and logical one) assured me that this baby was going to take its good old time to get here.

So what did we do? We went with my daughter and her man to play nine holes of golf. Seriously? Yep. But it did take my mind off my new grandchild being born.

My son and his wife chose not to know the sex of the  baby. They said there were too few surprises in life  and this was one of them. So we were totally in the dark on what it would be. They hadn't even shared their name choices with us.

We ended up over at the hospital later that evening and sat in the room with all the family members nil about midnight. Then we went to my son's house and crashed for a few hours. Breakfast at iHop and then back to the hospital...

It was about 4 or 5 am and we were told they wanted private time. Her contractions were getting stronger. And that is another thing...my sweet little daughter in law decided to have the baby naturally. No IV's, no epidural, no pain meds, drugs, or inducing . She was a trooper through this whole ordeal. Smiling, good spirits and talkative...even though we knew she was feeling the pain more as the night went on.

The sun started to rise outside the waiting room about 6:45 am. A few minutes later, my son came down the hallway, crying. "It's a girl ", he said. "Perfect. Ten fingers and ten toes. And we named her Lola Rae."

I cried for joy and we all hugged and later got to meet our new granddaughter. A full head of dark hair, and a tiny little thing, she won our hearts immediately.

It was a great day!

So, this was the halloween that "almost "was...the timing worked out perfectly.

 We celebrated a new life and we are truly blessed!