dear ms b-its daddys time

DEAR MS B-ITS DADDYS TIME

ms b
forty years ago today gma was real sore in her back
having got on her knees and scrubbed all the floors in
the house with this unusual burst of energy
she was real sore that morning as i went to work
having been up all night with the pain

i drove the 30 miles from our rural home we were renting
i was a year away from acceptance to medical school
gma was a year away from attending graduate school
i worked in the local hospital lab

we had just moved from california to arkansas the month before
after gma graduated from college that august
i having finished two months earlier

in the late morning i got a call
noones around to help me she said
you need to come get me
so
i hopped into that old yellow beetle
zoom i went
looking down i noticed i was on empty

when i got there
she was right no neighbors were at home
she was on the floor breathing her lamaze breathing
so
we hopped back into the car
well i did
she crawled into the front seat
i knew things werent good
when she started doing those hee hee breathings
i knew from class we were closer than i realized
so
off we went
ok so i drove real fast
i had 30 miles to go
looking at the gas gauge
i noticed it was on empty still
so
i made a decision
go for it

it was an exciting ride
hurry she said
so
i did

thanks goodness it would be three years later before i would
deliver my first baby

we made it on time
daddy came into this world not long after we arrived

so thats how he got here

now be nice to daddy today
that 40th birthday is the halfway point in a persons life

its like the little engine that could
that reaches the peak
then zoom down the other side of life he will go

let me tell you ms b
that ride on the downside of 40 goes fast

when you hit 40 you wish folks didnt give you a hard time
its a day to reflect backwards and forward
to realize
your life will never be the same
the old body has changed
most of us have lots of scars
physically and emotionally
many remain with us forever

so what im trying to say is
be nice to daddy today
theres some turmoil inside
which happens to us all
knowing where we have been
knowing where we want to be
will we get there
only
the next 40 years will tell the  answer

yes
ms b
today is a turning point

the organicgreen doctor