I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids
myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my
own second-grade classroom a few years back.
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few
sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness.
Usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet
turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff
like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations
on them.
If they want to lug it to school and talk about it, they're
welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very
outgoing
kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class
with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot
of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother,
and I'm going to tell you about his birthday."
"First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then
Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He
ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."
She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm
trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The
kids are watching her in amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays
ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Erica puts a
hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house
for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Now the kid's doing
this hysterical duck walk, holding her back and groaning. "My
Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't
have a sign on the car like the Domino's man."
"They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica lies
down with her back against the wall. "And then, pop! My Mom had
this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and
it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!"
This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are
miming water flowing away. It was too much!
"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push, and breathe,
breathe.' They started counting, but never even got past ten.
Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in
yucky stuff, they all said was from Mom's play-center, so there
must be a lot of stuff inside there."
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to
her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if
it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case
another Erica comes along.
Life is meant to be lived . . . enjoy!
TAKE CARE!!!!!!!!!!!! AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU
ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
