happy birthday

Isaac's been counting down the days. Today's the day.

Four years ago, tiny contractions woke me up at 5:30 a.m. Jared was working his 12-hour night shift, but he was coming home soon. He'd make it just in time to run the Firecracker 5K Run and then settle down for some much-needed sleep. Cramp-like contractions continued on a regular basis. Thinking I could be of help, Carly and I drove to the middle school to pick up his running packet. I remember standing in line waiting for my turn. Trish Lukert greeted me, "Hi, Myra! How are you?" Contraction. I tried to smile. "Just fine!" But what I wanted to say was, Can you hurry? I think I'm in labor.

Jared got home around 7:30 a.m. Contractions were still small and around five minutes apart. We wondered whether he had time to run this race or not. He ran to the starting line six blocks away. I finished packing our bags, and Carly and I waited on the front steps. Run fast, Jared! C'mon! Light contractions continued. I packed the car, wondering whether this was really labor or not. Twenty-two minutes later, Jared crossed the finish line. All runners generally pant and come to a screeching halt when they finish the 5K. Not Jared. He continued to race home. We dropped Carly off, and went to the hospital.

Isaac John was born at 12:12 p.m.

Carly: pestering her brother for the first time

Jared: running on zero hours of sleep

Turning 1

Happy Birthday, big boy!