Evacuation Night

Almost two years ago (plus an hour or two!), we had to evacuate our home. I could see flames on the ridge not too far from us, and they seemed to be creeping closer by the minute. We waited for a while, debating whether or not to leave, but I was freaking out and eventually made the call to evacuate... I knew that there was no way I would be able to sleep in the house that night. We had already packed our belongings into the car earlier that day, but we then packed up the animals and headed to our friend Tony's house in an area of San Diego unaffected by the fires. And what a night it was! It was so hot (unlike tonight), and Tony let us sleep in his room, along with both the cat AND the parrot. He had a brand-new puppy at the time, and it just wasn't wise to keep either animal anyplace else in the house. We slept decently, until about 4am, when Charlie jumped up onto Corky's travel cage and knocked it completely upside-down! Talk about a rude awakening!

We had to wake up early the next morning to get to the hospital for a non-stress test. I had been trying to get in touch with my doctor, with no luck-- my medical clinic was in the area of town that was hardest hit by the fires. In fact, my coworker who lost her home lived less than two minutes from my doctor's office-- it's incredible that the building didn't burn down as well! At any rate, my repeated calling to the hospital about my situation resulted in them scheduling the non-stress test early that morning, so off we went. Nikos was just perfect-- active as can be, and with plenty of fluid. That, along with returning to our undamaged home, was the highlight of my day.

I spent so many hours on the phone with people over the next few days, trying to locate my doctor and see what the plan was. Originally, I was supposed to have an appointment with him on the 22nd, where we would schedule my induction. On the 24th, I finally spoke with a doctor who "got it." Really, if I could remember her name, I would hug her today. Truly, I would. I was in tears on the phone, wanting to get the baby out and worrying that he would be in danger if he stayed in my belly too much longer. She said she would schedule my induction, then call me back. She did call me back-- and told me to come to the hospital right away. My induction began at 1pm, and Nikos was born via emergency c-section almost exactly 24 hours later.

Yes, I know that I am being totally sappy lately. But that week was the most incredible emotional roller coaster that I have EVER experienced-- it ran the gamut from tragedy and sorrow to incredible happiness. I will never forget a second of it. And most of all, I can't believe that my little baby is almost two. Wasn't he just born yesterday?