The Dynamic Duo

I was thinking about all the clever tales I have told from the childhood of our very own UltraBob and thinking about how nice it will be for him to have these stories to pass down to his sons and daughters someday, if he (and I) are so blest, when suddenly I had a chilling thought: I have 3 other children. What about THEIR sons and daughters? What about them right now? How will they know unless I tell? Unfortunately, the same bad memory problem persists, so I have only fragments of memory of any time of my life. I wonder if I will suddenly remember all about my childhood and early marriage when I am old and suffering from a more severe case of dementia than at present? But I digress (again). What I meant to say is: Heather, this is a little bit of your life.

Ubob was a little over 2 years old when Heather was born. This part I do remember vividly. She was slated to be born in late March-early April. In Idaho, that means the snow may be melting somewhat, but the winds are still chilling. Back in those days it was extremely rare to know your child’s sex beforehand, unlike today when it is extremely rare not to. Ubob, while cute and clever, nonetheless, had the misfortune to be born a boy, and I really hoped this time to get it right.
Easter was at hand, and my family had been invited to spend the day as our guests, attending the Easter Breakfast, then Easter Services at my church, then to my house for a sumptous Easter dinner. At that time, my mom, dad, brother Dan and sister Debi lived in Idaho Falls. It’s about 70 miles away, and is where we Howites (e.g. people who live in Howe) go for any major shopping, appointments or entertainment. The day before, I made major preparations. The beef roast was in the pan, surrounded by onions, potatoes and carrots ready to be roasted. I believe I had also made bread, salad, jello and a cake. The house was kind of clean. I seemed to have endless energy. Uh huh. You guessed it. In the middle of the night I went into labor. UDad had been up very late that night with a bad toothache, and with the help of some industrial strength pain relievers, had finally fallen into a deep sleep. Me: “John, I think we need to go to the hospital.” John:”Umgurlfluhen.” Me:(after another contraction, louder and with some shaking) “John, we need to go to the hospital!” John: “Okay. Umflrugekhen.” ME: (a little louder and with a little more shaking, tugging and pummeling): “JOHN, ITS TIME TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW!” That did it, and he calmly proceeded to hurl my overnight bag into the car and drive at a moderate breakneck speed towards Idaho Falls, where our doctor and hospital awaited.
Our first stop was my parents house, where little UltraB would be spending a few days. I will never forget the look on my dad’s face when we knocked on his door about 3:00 A.M. Why we didn’t call ahead I really don’t know. He looked astonished and bewildered as he spoke:”I thought we were coming to your house for Easter. By the way, you really look like a pumpkin in that orange coat.”
Next stop was the hospital where the fun began. My labors were never speedy; probably a good thing since we had a 1 1/2 hour drive to get to the hospital. The Dr. always ended up giving me a little something to speed the labor along, and I always got whatever he would give me for the pain, but still had some pretty healthy amounts of it. I wasn’t into the totally natural childbirth thing.
So, late on Easter morning, March 26, 1978, our beautiful daughter Heather Loren was born. She was the smallest of my babies, and the prettiest. It was clear from the start that she would, like her older brother, have red hair.
Ubob was over the moon to have a little sister, and even more so when she was old enough to play with him. He held her whenever he was allowed to (always with lots of careful supervision). He was fascinated with her tiny body parts. “Look, Mom, a little nose, ears, eyes.” “Yes, Honey, but stop poking them.” Bobby had tended to be colicky and fussy, but Heather was less fussy. Like Bob, she enjoyed her pacifier, but unlike him, she would accept the cute little NUK pacifier, and didn’t insist on the big, bulby kind. And what fun to dress her up and fix her hair in a few years when she grew some!

See what I mean about the hair?

“Big Brother! What a delicious arm you have!”

A proud and youthful UltraDad