490 Years ago today (guest blog)

While my wife is napping, I’ve been asked to guest blog. I’m the husband, Tony, the XY in the household.  The big news today is that Saralyn Margaret arrived today at 9:13am, scale-tipping at 8 lbs., 14 oz., and 21 inches long.  In our world this really blows away the news about Robert Goulet’s obit, or improper bare mid-riff Halloween costumes on seven year olds, or Atlanta’s TorT traffic horrors that might make for blog fodder.  I tell ya, this is big Jerry, big!

The grandparents Pormen and big sis Elly have been by to check on Saralyn, as have friend Bambi and Pastor Ed.  The benefit of Pastor Ed’s visit, besides a wonderful and moving blessing at bedside for the new kid in town, was that after guessing throughout the morning about the year of the posting of the 95 Theses (today’s anniversary) we had a confirmation (small c) from Pastor Ed.  Emilie and I were correct in guessing the year 1517 and had the discussion about taking Elly and Saralyn to Wittenberg for Saralyn’s tenth birthday, to which Emilie’s side of the discussion was best summed up by the words, “Yeah, like that won’t be crowded.”  Knowing my predilection to avoid crowds, Emilie was in a manner of speaking telling me to lie down until I felt better.

Even if a Wittenberg trip is not in our plan, we are still plenty excited about the little sister.  If you’re a regular visitor to this blog, you know the drill [TMI ALERT]…

  

Saralyn is a champion diaper-filler and is ridding her innards of all the stuff that makes womb life comfortable.  On the intake side, Saralyn is latching well; but without the barracuda-like voracity that took her older sister into the top 90^th percentile for height and weight.  But, what she lacks in vigor, she makes up in stamina by nursing for 20 minute stretches.  She has a good crop of hair mostly along the back and sides, and long eyelashes to cover her dark eyes.  Once she opens the peepers in good light, we’ll declare a color and blog about that on a different day.

 

Emilie will blog about the operating room stuff once Internet access gets easier to find.  I’m guessing there will be another TMI warning on that one as well.

Saralyn arrives 101 years to the day after her great-grandmother Mary Irene, whose sister Margaret Williams was my great aunt and served as a grandmother figure to me and many of the kids who came to visit Jason, Regina and Christy at the farm.  As the child of late-in-life parents who were themselves children of late-in-life parents, I never met Grandmother Mary, and I realized when Aunt Marg passed in ’90 that she was my link to the family history and to the reunion we celebrate each September.  My aunt Margret in Gulfport is also very dear to us, and we bonded late in life after Uncle Ron passed.  She’s weathered a lot, from growing up in 30’s and 40’s Koln to Hurricanes Camille and Katrina.  Of course, I love my Aunt Thelma very much, and would love to include her in this naming; but we are blessed to have her and Uncle Ray’s love for Saralyn.

We are humbled to have all the good wishes sent to us from near and far, from our Small Group Ministry friends at ASLC to Peja and Ida in Zagreb and all parts in between.  Our family is resting on a sturdy foundation of friends, and as Bartles and Jaymes used to say, thanks for your support.

-TB