Birthday

It's my son Jack's fifteenth birthday today! A quinceanera, if he was a Mesoamerican female, which he is decidedly not - he's a tall, handsome dude, but still. It's a big deal. I was reliving his birth in the shower this morning - premature membrane breakage on the early morning treadmill walk, the long stay in the hospital with that terrible medicine that stops labor - mag. I could not read or watch TV it wrecks your concentration and blurs your vision. I did get a pedicure, that was nice. Labor and delivery were easy, when it finally was time, after the surfactant. His physicality today flies in the face of his tiny birth weight. Miracles are real.

I wanted to name him Jack, but my husband at the time thought that was a nickname, so we named him John and call him Jack, after my maternal grandfather. I think it's funny that his name is John Schneider, considering I was in love with Bo Duke as a preteen. One of my first crushes. I remember listening to his cassette tape over and over one summer at the beach on the top bunk in our rental house. It wasn't really that good, but I was infatuated. I may have told you all this before, but if history repeats itself (pandemic! protests!) then so can I.

Yesterday I learned that our head transcriptionist - a magician really - her name is Tina, is having her tenth grandchild today. Which is crazy, because she could pass for someone my age. I excitedly popped out of my office and asked if they had a name. "Yes, it's a boy, he's going to be a junior. Darius. I'm calling him D.J."

Tina's husband also works at Baptist. He always smiles real big when he sees me in the hallway and greets me - he calls me doc. It's impossible not to smile back. About five years ago, I learned there was a Martin Luther King celebration at Baptist in the afternoon of that holiday. I wandered in. It was a little disheartening to see how few white people were in the room, so I vowed to attend annually if I was at work that day. Tina was there. A white reverend was the headliner, which was also disheartening, but that has been remedied in years since. I was so surprised when Tina's husband got up to sing - he has an incredible voice. She later told me that her son was one of the one's playing a musical instrument, I forget which one. But I remember him. His sheer height and bulk and pleasing visage make it impossible to forget him.  Don't tell Tina I said that, it's kind of embarrassing. But he's really cute.

I started call this week, for the first time since April, and Monday was super frozen heavy - I had eight before nine. I was bragging to one of my partners that they were all easy and karma hit me in the head when I had a really hard one at the end of the day. I was also trying to sign out my cases and my keyboard stopped working. The bluetooth light came on when I toggled the switch on the back so I thought it couldn't be the battery and kept waiting for it to connect. When it didn't I banged my hands on the keyboard in frustration.

I walked out in the transcription area when I was called for another frozen. Tina was there with one of the other transcriptionists, she had been working on a computer problem with her for over an hour. Which made me reluctant to bother her but I needed help. If this frozen was as hard as the other one, I was going to have a meltdown. After the frozen, of course. I interrupted, apologized, and explained my problem. I asked her how could she be so calm dealing with this issue for over an hour when I was banging on my keyboard after only ten minutes. She smiled and promised to look at it while I went to the gross room.

Luckily, the frozen was pretty easy. Then I got back and my keyboard was fixed. She told me it was the batteries. Of course.

Tonight after work my ex's wife is making Jack's favorite meal at her house - fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. When I asked her what I could bring she said only wine, what a relief. I wrapped some presents last night and I can't wait to go over there and give him a big birthday hug - I have to look up to him now it's the weirdest sensation on the planet. I'm so excited. Hope you have a fantastic Wednesday too. Much love, E

*cross posted at my blog, www.gizabethshyder.blogspot.com