Friday, February 20, 2009

19 Years Ago Today.....

I was laying on a table, waiting to be wheeled into the delivery room.

My daughter was born at 2:38pm on Tuesday, February 20, 1990. She is 19 today. She's FINALLY legal. And we will celebrate in true Warren form by partying it up at the Stampede Corral tonight.... I am sure it will be a blast.

I went into labour on Sunday, February 18th..... started having contractions and thought they were false labour. In the middle of the night, I woke up and realized that I was in full active labour.. her father woke up ..... because we had taken Labour & Delivery classes at Conestoga College we knew we had time. (hey, should I be putting that on my resume? I graduated....)

So I took a shower and shaved my legs (see how vain I can be?) and packed a bag.... We went to the hospital in the morning... My husband's sister Shari was staying with us at the time.... doing an internship at CKGL (when it was still country). She didn't believe that we were going to the hospital at first because we were so calm. When she went into work, she told a friend of ours that I was in labour. Danny wished us luck on the air. And THAT'S how my inlaws found out that they were about to become Grandparents!

We went to the hospital and I wasn't very dilated so they sent us home. We stopped at Blockbuster and got movies... I waited in the car. One of the movies was "Turner & Hooch"... the other was a drama... I can't remember... I didn't watch either... I was too busy being in pain. Finally in the evening we went back to the hospital. I sent my husband to the emergency clinic... he had pneumonia. I told him to go home because he was sick.. I remember spending the night wandering about and trying to read. I remembered NOTHING of what I read.

In the morning the doctor broke my water to speed up labour. Then they decided to give me an epidural as I had been in labour for so long. When my husband showed up with coffee it was about 9am and they wouldn't let him in the room so he thought something was wrong... they were giving me the big needle. They finally let him in and I was in no pain at all. So we played cards all day until I was dilated enough to have this baby.

About 2 o'clock they took us up to the delivery room. I pushed for a while, and there she was. She had black hair and blue eyes. 7 lbs 1oz. 19 inches of absolute perfection. She immediately breastfed well... we called her a little barracuda. But her given name ... Kaitlin Taylor.

Now, my daughter does not want me to say her name in my blogging... so this is the only time.. because even though it's her birthday, it's a celebration for me too as I'm the one who carried her for 9 months and pushed her out. Hey! Shouldn't I get a gift.. ? haha.

And she's 19 today. Holy mackeral. Time really does fly. Just yesterday she was squirming around in her crib.... racing around in her walker. She was the prettiest baby you've ever seen. People would stop me in the mall and ask to hold her. She was... and is.. beautiful.

Katy is one of the most beautiful people I know. Inside and out. She has an old soul.. being Pisces and all. She is a wonderful singer, a talented writer. She is smart and pretty and kind. When I was a Brownie leader, there was a girl in my group who had some disabilities and sometimes the other girls didn't want to hold her hand because she was "different". Katy would stand up for her, and always take her hand. She loved that little girl.

Katy was always the kid who brought extra snacks to school for the kids who didn't have enough. One of her best memories of Christmas ISN'T what she got one year, it's the time we bought gifts for a not-so-fortunate neighbour family. One time she painted her brother silver. I used to have to put a lock at the top of the door ..... she would build a tower to stand on to unlock it and run outside to play....she is my child after all...

She was 9 when she first sang in public - at TJ's Roadhouse in Kitchener. She sang "Tonight the Heartache's on Me" and she was awesome. Whenever there was a school assembly or coffee house in high school, she would sing. And she was wonderful.

She has had long, blonde to her waist hair.. fire engine red hair, platinum blonde hair.. some green hair.. black hair.. and the infamous fuschia pink hair. She had 11 piercings at one point and she has 3 tattoos.. Some of the other parents (and kids I'm sure) "labelled" her because of her appearance. Meanwhile, she is a good student, and has the biggest heart of anyone I know.

She's the girl who stays up till all hours helping her friend's through their crisis. She would sooner tear off her own arm than hurt someone intentionally. She loves her brother more than anyone else on earth and calls him her hero. She loves her dog Barley.. she even loves my crazy dog Mocha. She is kind beyond belief. She helps with the housework.

She loves her family. She was the first grandchild for both sides of the family.... and the only kid for 5 years, so she grew up around adults. She's an old soul and has always been mature for her age. Many people were surprised to find out she's JUST 19.. they thought she was older because of her demeanor.

We butt heads a lot (both being girls) but we always make up. She's one of my best friends as well as my daughter. I love hanging out with her. She makes me laugh. She is outgoing, yet somewhat shy. Nothing makes me happier than to see her happy.

She smells like vanilla musk. She is on the Dean's List. She is an excellent writer. I love her singing voice more than anyone else's in the world. When she was in Grade 8 she played Mary in the school pageant and sang "Breath of Heaven" and you could have heard a pin drop.

Although we are not together anymore, Katy's parents love her. Immeasureably. Without a doubt. Although she seems to have gotten a few of the bad traits..... it appears she got all of the good... thank God.

Katy is one of the kindest, nicest, funniest, sweetest people I know. If I weren't her mother, I would want to be her friend. I love her more than anything or anyone in the world (except for her brother. and it's absolutely equal..) She is beautiful, talented and smart. And I am so proud of her.

On this, your 19th birthday Katy, please know that I think the world of you. Happy Birthday.

Now let's get drunk. Legally.


Life: I have the best daughter in the world. How can it get any better?
Love: I love her. She is awesome.
Pants: Yes, I will wear pants to the bar tonight. Promise.

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