30 YEARS?

30 years!?  It seems like almost yesterday.

A whole lotta life can be lived in 30 years. 30 years is a ride filled with precious moments and a few potholes. This  describes my last 30 years, and I would never trade them.

It was just over 30 years ago my lovely daughter Erin entered planet Earth via spaceship mom.  Ok, bad analogy.. my wife Mary was pregnant but not as big as a spaceship.  BUT I DIGRESS..  after a high risk pregnancy including 5 1/2 months on bed rest Erin entered this world in a rush about 10 weeks early and weighing in at a lean mean 3 lbs. 13 oz.

As you can imagine Mary being on bed rest for 5 1/2 months, with 2 preschoolers running around the house while I was working fulltime was stressful and exhausting. But we were so blessed with good family, a church, and friends that were truly PRICELESS in getting us to the finish line.

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D-DAY ( or B-DAY) February 5, 1991:  So just after just getting home around 9pm from the hospital visiting Mary with our two boys, I put the boys to bed and the phone rings.  It is the hospital informing me I better get back right away if I want to see the birth of my daughter.   I did, so I did.

So I get the boys up, rush them over to Mary’s sister’s house (she lived 2 blocks from the hospital) and arrive in time to be with my wife.  Since Mary’s due date is not for another 10 weeks the doctor expounds great words of wisdom for the day.. “Don’t push too hard or you might shoot your baby across the room.”  Ya gotta like a doctor with a sense of humor.
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So unto us an 'Erin' is born, around 11:30 pm with no complications except that she is only 3 lbs 13 oz.  After an initial exam she is given her first ambulance ride to the Children’s Hospital NICU in St Paul where they specialize in care of preme-babies.  WHEW!  Glad they did, cuz I did not.

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After a short time a Children's Hospital Erin came home to be with her brothers, and our family never looked back.

We have so many memories of Erin as a little girl, then off to school, and even those dreaded teen years.. that make us both smile and cringe.  

There is no manual that prepare this dad for teenage girls.. THEY SCARE ME! 

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Now fast forward 30 YEARS from 1991 and our little girl all grown up and just now today April 11th, 2021 at 3:30 a.m. delivered her first child Ira Tyron McDonough.  Grandma Mary and I are beside ourselves excited. And irony of ironies due to a little junk in baby Ira's lungs he was moved to the same NICU as Erin was 30 years ago.  Baby and mom are fine, but I am glad both are blessed with the great care of doctors that are in charge.

So those are my 30 years, these are Erin's 30 years and we both are ready for the next 30 filled with more precious memories along with the accompanied potholes that are all so very priceless and a gift from God.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.

Jeff (proud grandpa and daddy) Larson

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Jeff