Five years ago today I gave birth to my fourth child, Samuel Augustine. I thank God everyday for the surprise gift I had in my little Gus. Happy Birthday Gussie!
It's true that every child one gives birth to brings out qualities in the parent that eventually mold them into better parents/people and Gus is no exception. I confess that I cried tears of exhaustion and fear when I first learned that I was a pregnant with my fourth child. I was unsure of how I would handle four children..away from any grandparents and free help. With Jack only 6 months old at the time, Nick being 4 and Rebecca aged 8, I wondered how and why God chose this time for another child.
Then Gus arrived. 10 1/2 pounds of baby. Rolls of fat. He seemed ready for college. I remember looking into those blue eyes for the first time and saying, "OK Ooooghlie. What does the future hold for you and me?" 'Tis true that Gus was a challenging baby. He was demanding, hard-headed, and cranky but was and is still a child who knows what he wants: good or bad. Most of all, he either loves you or dislikes you. He runs hot or cold. One thing is for sure: He LOVES his mommy fiercely and makes sure that I know it. He does NOT love the boy who tattles on him incessantly across the street and lets him know it (much to my embarrassment) Gus: (yelling to the boy) "Hey you.. kid! You just go on back to your side of the street. You are NOT welcome here." then there was the time when he said to the boy, "Hey, do you think your COOL??? Well you're NOT!" He then turns his back to the sobbing kid and walks away. Ug!(I don't know whether to laugh or cry!)
Today, Gus is five and I can't imagine what life would be without my Gus. He is big. He is loud. He is heavy (55lbs) and He is my special consolation prize. It is because of Gus that I trust God more, that I trust myself as a mom, that I trust my instinct and that I realize that yelling at your neighbor is NOT necessarily a good thing...but it is funny.
Happy Birthday Gus!
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