Poem for Chrissie

On the day
When you were born
On that bright
And early morn
Your mom felt fine
But as the day wore on
The good feeling was gone
And she was grimacing
Quite a lot by nine
Dad Tony was alerted
The bag was packed
Then mom and dad, panic averted
They rushed to the hospital and Dad rushed right back
He had no time
There was a nursery to build
So he got busy and mom did too
And with loud noises, the hospital was filled
Everyone told mom
To rush and relax – relax and push
She listened when she could
To the cheerful helpful nurse
Mom thought to herself
It could get lots better
But, good heavens it seemed to get worse
That September morn was crisp and bright
But your parents both sweated a bunch
For your dad was no carpenter
Your mom but a girl
And here it was already
Time for lunch
Now for dad, that was easy, he fixed it himself
Then cleaned up the mess he made
Shaved his face neat
Gonna go see his family
Then sit out in the shade
But what to his wondering eyes should spear
But a very tired wife you needed some cheer
As she pushed and relaxed and relaxed and pushed
Till dad finally had to go out for a beer…
Ere the night grew cold
Low and behold
A baby girl appeared on the scene
To them you were better than
Sweet berries and cream
You were little
Not one bit whiney
Had a mass of black hair
And a ribbon that was tiny
Your fingers and toes were small
Hardly any nails at all
Your grandpa and grandma George just
Were delighted
As they gazed upon you from the hall
Dad really had to scramble
To finish fixing up your place
The miniscule nursery was humble
But with a flourish it was done
Dad put a smile back on his face
Then home we hurried
Scurried and got there quick
To enjoy the blessings
And the sunny autumn weather
Hoping never to get sick
Through trial and error we learned
You, your dad and I
How to manage as a family
We only had to try
Our home was so small
We ate where we cooked
It was hard to find a little room
To open up a little book
Dad was in college we played a lot of silly games
And usually you were good
So that is about what I remember
Of the day when you were born
Moms are so busy on that day
Sometimes our minds are torn
To want to remember just exactly everything
Or to remember not the pain
That birthing just naturally good stuff
Chuck out all the rest
And gladly hold our babies
Near and dear to our breast
Mom 1998