SenileSymphony Offline

63 Happily married Male from Knaresborough       25
         

Flashback

It was the winter of 1982, and the cold had set in like no years before, in recent memory. The snow had been piling up for weeks as the temperature kept dropping, day by snow filled day.
February 8th, and the weather was so bad, the brass monkeys were looking for shelter. The thermometer showed a balmy -37c, as the winds howled far in excess of 80 kph.
The wind chill made it feel like -51, which is totally unbearable.
Very little moved outside. Trains were ground to a halt. Buses and trams could no longer operate safely. This was one of the few times I can remember public transportation in Canada grinding to a halt.
As luck would have it, my car broke down and had been in the garage for a couple days. I had a 3 hour bus ride to work, as I lived in the South Western corner of Toronto, and I was based in the extreme North Eastern part of the city.
I had been stranded at work for two days, due to the weather. There was no way to manouver through the snow packed city. Thirty seven miles between work and home, and no way to get there.
My wife was pregnant at the time; very pregnant. In fact, she was a week over due with the birth of my son.
A truck driver whom was stranded with us said he was going to attempt to make it home. As luck would have it, he had to go right past my place. I decided to travel with him.
Four hours later, I strolled through the door, aching and longing for my nice warm bed. It is impossible to sleep on a concrete floor.
I was informed that the cable was out , along with our phone lines.
I swear, I had just crawled into bed and closed my eye lids when my wife said " Mike, it's time".
Her water had broke, and we had to get to the hospital.
I was so tired all I wanted to do was sleep.
I remember yelling " You pick a fine F'n time to have a baby."; as I threw on my clothes and got ready to brave the elements to call the only person I knew; my brother in law.
Now; All this being said, I think I should tell you there was a hospital one mile away. My wife chose to have her baby in a hospital 18 miles away.
We were fairly new to the city, so we still had not made friends there.
My brother in law lived 22 miles away; the other side of the hospital we had to get to. He was not the best of drivers at the easiest of times to get around.
The weather had actually worsened from when I got home.

So........into the whiteout I go, freezing my ass off, to a payphone that offers no protection from the elements. It's 2am; beyond sub arctic and the dial ( yes I said dial ) on the payphone is frozen. I had to whack it with the receiver to loosen it up. I call my brother in law, who immediately panicks and says, "I'm on my way."
You could not see 40 feet in front of you, but somehow he managed to be on my doorstep within 20 minutes.
As we got loaded up and head for the hospital, Every place my brother in law had slid off the road; or vehicles he had bounced off became apparent. He was on a mission.
The drive to the hospital was the drive from hell. There was no heater in the car. One wiper worked. We hurled down the icy highway with heads stuck out the windows to try and look for landmarks to get an idea where we were.
Driving snow was stuck to us, so thick, that we could no longer talk or blink from the chill of the winds. With luck, we had a break in the snow just as we approached the cut off to the hospital.
He parked the car; front bumper creased through the radiator from 4 ft round concrete pillar he slid into.
Once in the hospital we could see we both had frost bite from the journey. An attendant took care of my wife as Byron and I were both escorted to the emergency ward for treatment.
A couple hours later when I could blink again, I found the room my wife was admitted to. She was happy as a lark as she kept suckin back the oxygen the midwife had left for her.
All I wanted to do is sleep. Every time I'd nod off, she'd get the giggles and suck back more oxygen to ease her contraction pains.
Half in a coma, it was time to head for the birthing room. I could barely stand, but did my duty, being there for my wife and new born son.
I don't remember much after getting into the delivery room. I know my son was born and I said "congratulations. You've had a moose".
After that I went into the hallway and dropped on the nearest sofa.
I woke up a few hours later; found my wife, and got to hold my son for the first time. It's hard to remember just how small he was.
I promised I would be a better father to him than mine was to me.
After a few hours, I head home by taxi. Byron was trying to explain to the police why his car was now a permanent fixture in the front of the hospital.
The sun was shining. I knew when I got home I was going to sleep uninterrupted for the whole day.
I think I kept my promise to my son. He turns 31 on the 9th of February. For the most part I still beam with pride when I see the man he's grown into.
It has become an annual event, recapping the events surrounding his birth,
These are the events; as they happened; 31 years ago.
Happy Birthday Jance
I love you always.

Senile (dad)
Marie1967
Marie1967: Treasure every moment whether far or near .......
11 years ago Report
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Eba
Eba: This was a very nice story .....thank you for sharing it with us. Ironically, I too have a story of the day my daughter was born on the night of Feb 9, 1974., in a blizzard, But that's another story for another time. The memories are nice , and I too ask where the time went.
Was great to see a post from you . I stopped in to check things out and seee if anyone was around. You take care and I hope that we will be able to catch up sooner or later.
11 years ago Report
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