The Bigger They Are

Dear Boo and Bubble,

This might sound strange, but even though I had an older brother, I was great granddaddy Schaefer's “first” child. You see, when your great Uncle Bryant was born in 1945, granddaddy found himself on the island of Okinawa in the Pacific during World War II. He experienced the glorious occasion of a firstborn son only through correspondence and telegrams. Mamaw Mary went through it all in Houston, Texas, with your great, great grandmother Bethany by her side.

By 1946, the war had ended and granddaddy came home to Greenville, settling down to his law practice and normal family life. Bryant was a toddler, a far stretch from the baby stage. I came along in December of 1947 and when Mamaw Mary went into labor, Granddaddy had the chance to participate in all the fun he had missed while overseas.

The whole birthing process is so different now. There were no suites with pre-selected Pandora music piped through Ipod speakers. La Maz methods had yet made their way into hospitals. Fathers could not attend, assist or witness the birth of a child, being relegated to anxious hours in waiting rooms. When it was time, a cadre of nurses and doctors consumed every square inch of space until such time as an announcement could be made......”Mr. Kendrick, you are the proud father of........”

Apparently, Mamaw Mary had extended labor with me. I held out until around 2:00 in the afternoon. By the time the nurses cared for Mamaw and returned her to her room and then cleaned me up to be dispatched to the nursery, it was 3:00. By 4:00, Granddaddy Schaefer had yet to make an appearance.

“Do you know where my husband is?” she inquired of a nurse.

“No, ma'am, but I'll go check and see.”

More time passed. A nurse brought me to Mamaw.

“Could you please go find out what's happened to my husband? He hasn't been at all.”

“Oh my dear. Of course. Let me go see what I can find out.”

She returned in a few minutes that granddaddy was resting comfortably in his own room. He had smoked so many cigarettes, he had made himself sick. With the aid of the nurse, Mamaw Mary made her way down the hall with me in her arms to introduce Granddaddy to his baby girl.

I love this story because it embodies two of Granddaddy's most endearing aspects......his incredibly soft heart and my place in it.

When I was around three, we lived at University Ridge Apartments and Mamaw had a small garden outside the back stoop just to the left of the steps. Your great, great grandmother Mattie came over one day to help hoe the garden and prepare it for some flower seeds. As she tilled the dirt, she didn't see me approaching from behind. I came right up behind her as she brought the hoe back with a powerful thrust. It hit me right above my eye on the bone, leaving a bloody gash that sent me bawling at the top or my lungs and everybody else into a panic.

While Mattie cleaned the wound and held ice on it, Mamaw called Granddaddy at the office to tell him what had happened. He, in turn, called Dr. Thomason, our family physician who said to bring me right over to his office and he would check me out. Since we only had one car at the time, Granddaddy had to come pick us all up. A lump formed over my eye that made it almost completely shut. It had turned black and blue making me look like a prize fighter after a losing bout.

We raced to Dr. Thomason's office where his nurse rushed me into a room and lay me down on an examining table. Mamaw Mary held my hand on one side, Granddaddy Schaefer on the other. Dr. Thomason came in and assessed the situation.

“Well, that's quite a gash,” he said seriously. “Looks like we're going to have to take some stitches.”

Mamaw and Granddaddy looked at each other with concern.

“I'll have the nurse come in with the novacaine and we'll sew it right up.”

Shortly afterwards, the nurse came into the room with a needle that looked to everybody like she might be injecting a horse.

“Now, you hold her tight while I do this. It will hurt at first, but the novacaine acts pretty fast. Ready?”

Mamaw and Granddaddy nodded “yes.”

She stuck the needle into my forehead......at which point Granddaddy Schaefer fainted dead to the floor with a thud. Dr. Thomason came racing in. The two of them had to maneuver Granddaddy into a room of his own before they could continue with my stitches.

You know, boys, Granddaddy and I had a special bond for life. Not only did I indoctrinate him into the wonders of childbirth, but I was also his baby girl. There is no more unique a relationship in the world. His doting and watchful eye protected me until his dying day. This big figure of a man - and he was just that- could be reduced to mush when it came to me.