Our First Week of Adventure

It would be quite unlike myself to be involved in anything boring. So, we decided...well, fate did, anyway...that we would get our first week of parenthood kicked off with some adventure. Our first experience actually happened on our way home from the hospital. It was Thursday morning and we were headed home. Anyone who has taken their first baby home from the hospital for the first time can probably attest to the many diverse emotions that that one feels. They range from pure joy and excitement to fear, anxiety and some what of helplessness. (Gotta love those postpartum hormones!) Anyway, what normally would have been an uneventful, hour-long drive home actually ended up being a four hour journey. (And yes...I admit, this new mother shed a few tears...those hormones are somethin' I tell ya!)
As we were approaching the freeway, we learned that East Bound I-10 was closed due to a truck fire that turned into a brush fire near Davidson Canyon. I told Brian that we could circumvent the whole mess by going through Sonoita...sure it would add an hour or so, but it sure beat sitting at a dead stand-still for who knows how long? Much to our dismay, that stand-still happened much sooner than we were expecting...exactly three miles short of the Sonoita exit! UGGH! So, after an hour-and-a-half of motionlessness, I start to get a little anxious. I'm thinking to myself, "Um...I gonna have to go to the bathroom pretty soon and there is no way I can go in the wilderness. Squatting is physically impossible at this point and how in the world would I clean up!" (Only someone who's given birth can fully appreciate this dilemma.) Furthermore, my baby is going to need to eat soon and there is no way I feel safe taking him out of his car seat to try and feed him. You know how people get all crazy when there's an accident...everyone is trying to find out what's going on and many times more accidents occur because of the increased curiosity. In addition, I'm not going to get out of the car and go to the shoulder to feed him because it isn't safe there either. So, I decide to call 911 and ask for a police escort to the Sonoita exit. Okay, so I realize that we aren't having an emergency at the moment, but it could soon turn into one. The dispatcher (who feels terribly sorry for me) kindly informs me that since I'm not having an emergency and they are short-staffed, that sending an officer is not possible. She then recommends dispatching an ambulance so that they can take me home! Um...if I'm not having an emergency, then how can you possibly justify taking an ambulance out of service! She was trying to be helpful and I was trying to be understanding but in the mean time, those hormones took over and I shamelessly began to cry...it was the weirdest thing...I couldn't help it! Brian is starting to get anxious because crying is not something that comes my way very often and he is feeling helpless. Well, I didn't know it at the time, but the water-works were the ticket to home. The dispatcher simply couldn't let this new mom and her day-old infant sit any longer. Thirty minutes later, an officer turned up and escorted us on the shoulder of the road to the Sonoita exit. Two hours later...home sweet home! Not something I'd like to do again in the near future...can we please get an I-10 bypass?!?! Or at least a frontage road?!?! We learned that the back-up lasted for nearly six hours...thank goodness for those hormones after all-they got us home!

The next adventure occurred on McRae's sixth day of life. I was experiencing a postpartum infection and needed to get some antibiotics. There was a complete mix-up with my doctor and the pharmacy and so the prescription didn't end up getting filled. By the time we learned this information, the office was closed and the pharmacy was closing shortly. I brushed it off and thought I could wait until morning. Later on that night, I am getting more and more miserable and can feel myself getting sicker and sicker. We called my uncle who calls in a script to the closest 24-hour pharmacy...in Sierra Vista. We leave our house at 10:30pm and head to my uncle's office to drop off a sample before our journey to the drug store. When I come out of the office, I notice Brian is in the back seat with McRae. I decide to feed him so that he doesn't wake up during the trip. Thirty minutes later, it occurs to Brian that our engine has been off but the lights, radio and GPS system are still running. He frantically tries to turn the car on...NO POWER!! Now it is 11pm and we are parked in the back of a completely dark physician's office. Brian walks across the street to Wal-Mart in search of a good citizen. Meanwhile, I'm in the car with McRae thinking, "What would I say if someone approached me with this story?"

Hypothetical Conversation--"Um..excuse me Ma'am. My car is dead and I was wondering if you could give me a jump. My wife and six-day-old infant are in the car and we are trying to make it to a pharmacy tonight...my wife is sick. Oh, and by the way...the car isn't in this parking lot. It's in the back of that unlit physician's office across the street. Now, if you'll just come with me..."

Sounds a lot like, "hey little girl, can you help me find my dog?" or, "Do you want some candy kiddos?" Anyway, he found a big, burly guy to ask and thankfully this helpful citizen came to our rescue. The drive to the pharmacy was uneventful and after another feeding we were headed home. We finally got home about 2am. By this time, we were just laughing! How in the world can you do anything else when it seems that all odds are against you? And how funny is it that Brian's only two times on highway 90 happened to be in the same week?!?! He's decided he's not taking McRae and me on any more road trips! They end up being far longer than originally anticipated. I guess that realization is our official

WELCOME TO PARENTHOOD!!

Here's to many more adeventures, I'm sure!