Ten Years Gone

(lyrics by Page/Plant)

Then as it was, then again it will be
An' though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea
Blind stars of fortune, each have several rays
On the wings of maybe, down in birds of prey
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to grow
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it's got so far to go


Ten years ago today my oldest child was born. His transition into this world was not an easy one for either of us. In the small morning hours labor began as typically as you could expect. Contractions, timing, deciding it was time. After arriving at the hospital and getting examined and approved for staying they hooked me up to the monitors and so began the wait. Not too long after that my water broke while I was lying in bed waiting for the real action to start. Then the hard contractions started and in went the epidural. Labor progressed normally and then it was time to push... for three hours. Just imagine doing crunches for three hours with a 10 pound basketball on your belly. It didn't help that my nurse spent at least half of that time taking personal phone calls. It was a very busy day in labor and delivery so I guess there weren't enough nurses to go around. There were 19 or 20 babies born while we were there. Anyway, they finally decided that he wasn't coming out that way. DUH! So rush, rush get to the operating room for the c-section. They typically do those with very high doses of epidural anesthesia, so much that it causes uncontrollable trembling in the upper body. I'm not sure what is worse, that or feeling people digging around and shifting your guts. And poor little baby had the biggest conehead that you can imagine from all that hard but futile pushing. He even had a sore and bruise where his head kept getting rammed into my pelvic bone. He was a very cranky baby. Can you blame him? I bet he had the world's worst headache for days!


Through the eyes an' I sparkle, Senses growing keen
Taste your love along the way, See your feathers preen
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, Didn't have to grow
We are eagles of one nest, The nest is in our soul

My oldest is my little Renaissance Man. He's an artist, musician, and scientist. He's a lot like me, but better. He was speaking in complete sentences at 18 months. His drawing ability has amazed everyone from the time that he has been able to hold a pencil. And I have taken him to supplemental art classes since he was 6. He always wants to know how and why. How do things work? Why? Why, why, why? From an early age he's been an intellectual challenge for me. We never baby-talked. He wasn't amused or satisfied by that. Our relationship often felt strained in a subtle way, like he was frustrated with his childness and I was frustrated with his maturity. But the older he gets the easier it for us to relate and to communicate the big thoughts that we share, and we are very close. And just last fall he taught himself to play the piano. He taught himself Beethoven's "Fur Elise" in one day just from listening to it. That's when I decided that he needed proper lessons. But despite all of those things he's still a normal kid, a normal boy who likes to ride bikes and skateboards and play light sabers with his friends. He's my firstborn. I love him more than life. And how time flies when you're having fun!


Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone