Surprise Christmas Gifts

Today, is the birthday of my youngest child. My wonderful son, Kevin, who weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. at his birth, 28 years ago.

In early March of 1982, my bride and I were very surprised to learn that a third child would be on the way later in the year. We had had a very difficult time in conceiving after the birth of our first child and felt we were extremely lucky when our second child was born. My bride had suffered miscarriages, and, as we were in our mid-thirties, we felt that our time was up for having babies. So, we had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have only two children. But God had different plans for us. As is always the case with His decisions, we were blessed with the addition of our beautiful baby boy. Kevin always has taken our comment about being surprised the wrong way, unfortunately, thinking he wasn't wanted. This has never been the case, of course, it was just we were incredibly surprised that we were pregnant.

Since his mother had undergone an emergency C-section with the birth of Kevin's older brother, Ryan, some 3 1/2 years prior, and medical procedures had not yet reached a point where natural childbirth could be conducted after a C-section had transpired, we were able to schedule Kevin's birth.

His older sister's birthday was December 8th, and we didn't want to conflict with that, so we opted for December 10th, allowing for a separation of a day in between the two - allowing the two children to have their celebrations apart from one another.

We were living on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where few facilities existed, so we had to make the trek to Beaufort - 40 some odd miles to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, and actually driving off an island via trestle bridge that had been closed the winter before in typically high winter winds, which did not us ensure getting off the island, to the mainland in some pretty bad weather. We left rather early in the morning that fateful day, excited about the arrival of the newest member of our family. As was the case with our other two children, we had decided not to determine the gender of the forthcoming baby, preferring to be surprised.

We had narrowed down names for a boy to either Colin, Connor, or Kevin, deciding to make up our mind once we actually saw our newborn child. We arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes prior to the 9:00 AM appointment for "delivery" - that's how excited we were - and checked in.

At a little after 9, I kissed my bride and she was wheeled away to the delivery room. I was left to wait, praying that all would go well. Since I knew I had a few minutes at least, I snuck outside and chain-smoked about 8 cigarettes in succession. Returning, I was advised that I was the father to a new, healthy, baby boy and that my wife was doing fine. Though it sounds trite now, I about jumped for joy. And, I silently said a prayer of thanks.

A few minutes later, while my wife was still recovering, I saw - and held - my beautiful baby boy for the first time. Though I had done this twice before with my other two children, nothing compares to the joy of meeting you newborn for the first time. Tears, of course, were shed, as I, again, was delighted with newest addition.

When my bride came to in her room a little while later, she too, was able to become acquainted with this little ball of wonder. He had a full head of hair, and dark eyebrows. We smiled, kissed each other, and him. Obviously, we had to examine our baby, checking for all his fingers, toes, and the like. He was beautiful, just like the others.

After a few minutes, the subject of a name came up. My wife said, "He looks like a Kevin" - something I had been thinking a few minutes earlier. So, our boy now had a name. Our third love affair began that day.

The days, months and years pass all too quickly, as parents throughout history can tell you. Today, our youngest progeny celebrates his 28th birthday.

Over the years, there have been so many wonderful moments - and as I said about my daughter, who just celebrated her birthday 2 days ago - the highlights of those years are too many to list here.

However, watching him grow into the fine young man he is today has certainly had it's impact on my life.

There are specific moments we've shared I'll never forget. Going with him & his mom to pick out his dog, a Golden Retriever he named Mercedes, and seeing the smile and love on his face. The weekend we spent together going first to Norman for an Sooner football game, then on to Dallas to watch the Cowboys play the Giants, spending the night at a hotel, was memorable, and a chance for us to re-bond. Picking him up from football practice at Kelley, when his Pads smelled so bad it stunk up the car and us laughing so hard, I could hardly drive. Taking him and his friends to OSU to register for classes for the first time; the Dad's days we spent together; Our Vegas trip celebrating his 21st birthday; seeing him fall in love; so many more.

He is a remarkable young man. An incredible sense of humor, plus a sensitivity unknown to most young men of his age.

Over the years, I have been blessed with many Surprise Christmas gifts, but he was absolutely the best.

Old Fart Mike