And then there were five...

April 23, 1986. Today is one of those few days where I actually remember what happened twenty two years ago. I was eight years old. I woke up early that day, and ran into my parents room to say "Good Morning" to my parents. But, lo and behold, my mother wasn't in her place in bed. Instead, I saw my older sister Jessica in my mom's spot and my dad in his. I quietly went to my dad's side of the bed, nudged him awake, and asked quietly, "Where's Mom?" He got a funny smile on his face and said, "She had the baby." Because of his smile, I thought he was joking and only believed him when Jessica affirmed that yes, Mom DID have the baby. They had woken Jessica up to "be in charge" and she had moved into their room to be closer to the phone. My next reaction? A bit of anger -- "Why didn't you wake ME up?!" I guess it was the middle child in me getting upset at being left out! I quickly got over my anger and excitement took its place. I couldn't wait to get to school and tell my teacher and friends that I now had another brother. Just the night before my teacher had commented at Back to School night that my mom looked like she was ready to pop! I thought that it was funny that she "popped" that same night!

After school, Dad took us to meet our baby brother -- Jace Robert. There were now FIVE of us kids...and all of our names started with J's. Jessica, Jamie, Janel, John Jr (aka JJ) and now Jace. It was Jessica who saved Jace from the fate of a horrible name. During her pregnancy, Mom had expressed the desire to name the baby Jennings Quembly. I don't know if she was joking or if it was the hormones. But, I thought it sounded far too much like a Cabbage Patch Kid name -- perhaps that is where she got it! My parents had a tough job finding yet another J name. You see, my Dad was also a school teacher and several names were also ruled out because they were the names of "problem" students that he'd had in his many years of teaching. But, thankfully, Jessica came up with the name Jace...just Jace...not Jason. I, for one, am thankful that she did!


And I am thankful for my little brother. He was such a sweet little boy, and now he is a fine grown man. Happy Birthday little brother!