Happy Birthday Christopher!

April 7, 1991
7lbs 11ozs
Christopher Mark Saucier

I thought I would absolutely DIE the night I had you. I was 17 years old and clueless to what I was doing. But I will never, ever forget how I felt the first time I held you. Scared to death and totally in love!

Your dad and I were sitting in the drive thru at Burger King when I had my first contraction. The look on my face told him EVERYTHING. He panicked of course and had no idea what to do. He almost drove away without our food. It was hilarious.

ONE contraction and we went to the hospital. They actually laughed at us when we got there 

Home we went to eat our cold Burger King cheeseburgers!

Guess what? BACK LABOR is a horrible, horrible thing to endure but I endured it…for a LONG time. 12 hours to be exact.

After three trips to the hospital and being sent back home they finally kept me. You should let your Grandma Carolyn tell you the story:
She worked in the emergency room when you were born. Third shift in the ER was either super busy or super slow and this night it was super slow. In 1991, when you went to the ER for anything the first thing you did was get in a wheel chair and when you left you left there in a wheel chair. It was hospital policy. She said that each time she looked up there I would go..up to labor and delivery and I would wave..then on the way back out I would wave again…lol All night long I did this and all night long she waved!

It is now 18 hours since the back labor started and I am finally being kept at the hospital. The real contractions start and here we go… The doctor that delivered you looked like Magnum PI. Your grandma thought that he was the most handsome man but I just thought he was old and hairy and looking at things that made me uncomfortable however, I welcomed him with all my heart!

I had a love affair with Demerol that night. It was a romance like no other!

Then there you were! Oh Christopher, how I loved you the moment I saw you. All of that other stuff…the lack of an epidural, the 24 hours of labor, the unfortunate lesson I learned about eating cheeseburgers before labor, the IV that I hated with a vengeance… all of that stuff didn’t matter anymore. You were here! You had the bluest eyes and the sweetest face! You also had a cone head but that went away with time!  Your hair was blonde but you didn’t have very much of it. Thinking about that right now gives me such a feeling of joy! What a blessing. I didn’t know much about God back then but he knew me and he knew that you were gonna change my life.

We made it Chris. We grew up together. We learned how to conquer life together. We learned how to compromise and live life TOGETHER. That sounds weird for a mom and son but we did it just the same. When your mom is 17 you kinda have to have some mercy for her AND YOU DID  With all my mistakes you loved without finger pointing and kept a smile on your face even after you got older and new that you didn’t have as much as others.

One of my favorite memories is your second Christmas! All you got from me to open Christmas morning was a coloring book and crayons, 3 Little Golden Books and 4 Matchbox cars all wrapped up separately. You were so excited about those presents. Your 2 year old reaction has been your reaction to every gift (big or small) that I have ever given you. It shows that you have a heart of gratitude.

You love with your whole heart. You have grown into the most amazing man. I am proud to call you my son. You are loving, you are giving, you are consistent, you are stable, you are blessed beyond belief with people that love you. You make your own decisions and take complete responsibility if you mess up. You are aware of life and live it with respect for yourself and others.

You treat me like your friend, you respect like your mom, you get grossed out when I am mistaken for your girlfriend and are honored to be a part of me. For that I love you!

Happy Birthday Christopher!

Love,
Mom