Psst.  Wake up.  I can’t stop going to the bathroom…

Those ten words changed my life forever.  In the middle of the night of the 21st of August, 1979, my (then) wife woke me to tell me those words.  I immediately knew she was not incontinent- but that her water had broken.  And, in a flash, I grabbed her bag (the one that had been packed for a few days- since the due date was 9 September), told her to dress, put on a pair of pants and a shirt and drove to Martha Jefferson Hospital.

Where I stayed for some 25 hours.  Being yelled at, having my arms and hands pinched, with an occasional respite as we traversed the halls.  Because my child (at that point in time, we had no clue as to its gender) was taking its sweet time arriving in this world.

And, when she was born (yes, I knew the gender then), her APGAR score was 1.  Since that’s on a scale of 10, you can guess this was not good.  Obviously, the 25 hours of labor did not do her any favors.

But, she persevered.  And thrived.  Turning into the wonderful child- teenager- adult- mom- and wife- we all hope our offspring prove to be.

And, while she is clearly now in middle age (according to the US Census Bureau), clearly a wonderful mom, a loving wife… she is still my little girl.  And, for that I thank Hashem each and every day.

Happy Birthday, Shosh…  May you continue your outstanding journey and help make this world just a little bit better because you are around.

I love you…

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