What memories. Like Christmas, Mothers Day brought the chance to take my alowance and go to the five and dime to look for something special for my Mom. Amazing what the mind of a small child can conjure up as SPECIAL just for Mom!
Of course I was always accompanied by one or both of my brothers. Ralph usually got the duty, but he never minded, or so it seemed. We would walk to town, and go into those special stores to look around for just that right something to make Moms day extra nice. Now when I said "conjure" I mean conjure. Webster has it down as: "produce as if by magic". In my case it was always that I could think of and then produce something I felt was so wonderful that Mom would just love it. You have no idea how many bottles of "stinky" perfume I purchased with the child like knowledge that it would set Mom off from every other Mother in town. If she would have been brave enough to wear any of them, it probably would have, only not in the way I had it made up in my mind.
She was always so tactful. Well the bottle was just so lovely setting on her "dressing table". The color was such a beautiful shade of green or yellow. They would set there for years, and be admired and appreciated, but thankfully never open and used. Mom was remembered, and I guess the thought in this case was the best gift of all.
When I became a Mother the five and dimes were pretty much a part of history. The soul remaining part of that era is K Mart, formerly Kress five and dime. In those days they did not carry all the things you find in Wal Mart today, but as I recall, they were still magical and I so loved going into the five and dimes during my youth.
I think the gifts I received were more generated from Jay than the kids. We lived so far from any place to do the kind of shopping Mothers Day requires it usually ment Dad had to do the taking, and helped the kids spend their pennies on something, with some financial assistance from Dad as well. Mothers Day was always special for me, and I am just sorry that I did not make notes about each and everyone.
Some reflections of being a Mother always come creeping back to mind this time of year. The little ones don't stay little for all that long, as most of you have already experienced. Of course the first child is the one that will be "perfect" even if you have to push and pull a great a deal in the doing of it. Paul was all the worse for wear and tear because he had 6 years to under go the molding that I felt would bring him into my picture of "perfection". Being such a young mother
only made the job more serious. I was 19 when I had Paul, and so inexperienced that a trip to Mother was more frequent than I even care to recall. Thank heaven she was there during those days.
Paul seemed to have too many illnesses that I was least prepared to deal with. Mother did double duty when Paul had pneumonia. He was bedded down in his play pen while Connie his cousin just a couple months younger was under Moms care because Willetta had a bad infection in the ring finger of her left hand. She had a hang nail that was infected from changing one of Connies diapers. It was so severe she nearly lost her finger. Then while Jay was in Korea Paul had Chicken Pox and Measles in less than 6 weeks. I have no idea where he contracted the viruses, but he had horrible cases of both. He wore sunglasses for quite awhile from the effects of the measles.
Of course when Dawn came along she had an embilical hernea. By that time I was more mature, however the long wait for another child, and this new threat to her very life played havoc with my nerves. I was in deep depression, which is now known as post partum depression. (spelling?)
I am not sure just how Jay handled all of the problems we had during those months. I would feed Dawn and when she would burp, up would come everything she had nursed. Along with the constant concern that her bowels might estrangulate and thinking she would starve didn't help either of us. We learned to burp her before she ate so she would retain the nurse. To help along they said she should have more solid food to help her gain. We made a very thin mixture of a formula and rice ceral and put it in an "evenflow" bottle with the nipples enlarged. She took it down, and it really did help. Mom had made belly bands for Dawn to help support her stomach. All in all we were able to get her through the setting up stage and near to pulling herself up with the support of the belly bands.
Dawn was about nine months old when she was given over to the care of Dr. Crum. He felt surgery could not be put off until she was older. The hernea was so large every day she was in danger of having her bowel envolved. So the surgery was scheduled and Dawn went into the hospital. No not a childrens hospital, there wasn't one. She went into a regular hospital and was put into a standard size bed. I waited as they put her under a seditive and waited for them to take her down to surgery. I am not sure how I made it through the next hour or so. What a site to see your little baby put on a guerney and pushed out into the hall and away from your care. When the Dr came out following the surgery he told me what had happened. Maybe you would
like to hear about it.
When Dawn came into surgery she was still awake and everyone started playing with her to make her feel at ease. The ether mask was part of the play. They would put it over her with just a little ether then she would push it away and then again, and again until she was asleep. I wondered when she came back to the room why she kept waving her arm back and forth. It was the after effects of them playing with her. When the surgery was done, the Dr found the abdominal wall was so weak, it would pull way with every attempt to stitch it. It was necessary to do what he called a "vest over pants" closure. This ment he brough stronger wall from lower and stitched it above, then brough wall from higher and stitched it over the other. Thus a double strenth to hold everything in place. He said it was the worst herena he had ever seen. There was, however, no reason to believe that everything would hold and all would be well. He explained that with such a sever reconstruction it would have been better to have removed the natural navel. Doing so would however, have been too much trauma for so young a child. He made a very neat restructured navel in place of the buldge that had been there.
Two days following the surgery, I put Dawn in the small rocking chair we had for the children and she slid out of it and stood up holding on to the arm of the rocker. I nearly fainted. I grabbed her up and called the Dr. to see if she might have injured herself. He assured me she would not, or could not do anything that she was not capable of doing. The act only showed us she had found a new strength she had never known before. Everything was O.K. Within no time she was pulling up to things and walking around the furniture using them for balance.
Finally both of my children were whole and well. The little girl that Jay had so prayed for and the little "sister" I had longed for all my life was now realized.
Written this 11th day of May, 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg
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