Birthday

Today is Ryan’s birthday and I miss him.

Time goes by so fast. I can’t believe that it was 25 years ago today. Here is how I remember it………..

April 1980 Amarillo, Texas

Ryan was born on April 28, 1980 in Amarillo, Texas. The due date for his birth was April 25. I’ll never forget that week. I had been working for Procter & Gamble for just over two years and had been pushing my boss for a promotion. As luck would have it, I received a phone call on the evening of April 23 from the “big” boss asking (telling) me to catch the first flight to Dallas the next day. I told Mr. Big that our son was due to make his appearance any time and that it might not be a big idea for me to travel overnight. His response was, “these things (baby’s arrivals) never happen on time so, you should come on to Dallas.” I did. On the afternoon of the 24^th, Terri went to the doctor and he wanted her to go on over to the hospital because she was about ready to deliver. He was ready to go ahead and give her the boost that she needed to deliver. Terri told him that I was out of town and that I wouldn’t be back until the next day so, he suggested that she stay at home until I was able to get back.

While I was in Dallas, I did get the promotion that I had been wanting but it didn’t feel as good as it should have because I was so worried about being gone. My friends Eddy, Joe, & David made sure that Terri was OK and I made it home on the 25^th – still no Ryan. Over the weekend, we counted the minutes and the hours; we tried to walk that baby out, nothing! Finally, on Sunday night – the 27^th we decided to have dinner at Gardski’s so Terri could have her favorite pregnancy food (nachos with extra peppers) and I could have a burger. I think that the Nacho’s did the trick because, sometime around 3 AM Terri informed me that it was time to make the trip to the hospital.

A Son is Born!

Just like we were in the movies, we were stopped for speeding on the way to the hospital – no ticket given. We were able to call the folks in Borger and they arrived a couple of hours before the most beautiful child I had ever seen was born. I am still amazed with the instant and overwhelming love that happens when you first see, hear, and touch your own child. I am truly blessed to have experienced this on three occasions.

I think that we had finally agreed on a boys name while we were in the labor room. Ryan Marcus was it. We both knew that the name was a fit. My son looked just like a “Ryan Marcus”. We would call him Ryan.

Ryan was an instant hit with the grandparents. Norma couldn’t believe that she had a grandson. She had wanted a grandson so badly that she was afraid to mention it lest she “jinx” the whole deal. I’ll never forget her running up the hall in the hospital yelling, “we got us a boy! we got us a boy!” Morris was so proud that he could hardly speak. Mom & Dad were just as happy and tried to burn the phone lines up letting their friends in on their news.