My Labor Day Weekend Labor Story

THE ZAMP CAMP
Sep 5, 2020
4 min read

Warning: My Labor Day Weekend Labor Story starts out sad but ends with a happy ending.

The year was 2008 and the holiday season was in the air. But with all the Yuletide and dreidel spinning came some unfortunate news. My best friend and grandmother Norma became very ill. My grandmother lived in New York and I had just recently moved to North Carolina so it was extremely hard being away from her during this time. One thing about my grandma is she loved all of her grandchildren and wanted nothing more than to have great-grandchildren. Unfortunately, my beautiful grandma passed away two days after Christmas and I didn't even get to say goodbye. This weighed heavy on my heart and still does to this day but remember I said this has a happy ending? I promise it is coming.

I flew to New York to lay my grandmother to rest and to be with my family. Upon returning home to North Carolina I started realizing I was very lethargic but just chalked it up to being emotionally drained and tired from my travels. Then I started to feel sick. Tony and I hadn't been trying to have kids so that thought didn't even cross my mind. Well, after a few days of being back and calming my emotions down I decided to take a test. Low and behold... I was pregnant. I truly believe that my grandmother sent me this baby but I just wish she was around to meet him.

Fast forward 9 months...

The day was September 3rd, 2009, and it started like any other day and I wasn't due for another week. At the time, my husband was in a nationally touring band called All Thee Above, and they were set to play an acoustic set at Hot Topic at the Carolina Place Mall. I was really excited about this because in high school I worked at Hot Topic and thought it was so cool that my husband would now be playing in one. I wasn't sure if I should go with it being so close to my due date but I didn't feel labor coming on or any discomfort (besides the normal being huge).

So we ventured out to the mall. Let's just say I didn't even make it into the mall because as soon as I stepped out of the car my water broke. Luckily, my husband was the drummer so he wasn't really needed for the acoustic set so the show went on as we ventured on our way to the hospital. The labor was long (17 hours to be exact) and All Thee Above had a showcase the next morning for a major record label so the pressure was on. My labor went into the next morning and I remember at 10 am my husband saying that in order to make the showcase he would need to leave in 15 minutes. Well, at 10:14 am (with 1 minute to spare) our Brayden was born.

We were so glad that Brayden showed up in time for All Thee Above to make their gig. Tony was very happy to meet him before going off to be the rock star that he is. Notice the time in the picture:

Unfortunately, All Thee Above did not get that record deal but I think we got something much better. Also, circling back to my Grandma Norma... I still believe Brayden was sent to us from her. As he has grown he has a strong resemblance to my grandfather Harry (Norma's husband).

My Grandpa Harry Brayden

What is even crazier is this phenomenon didn't stop with my Grandma Norma and Brayden. A few years after the passing of my grandma my beloved Grandpa Harry passed away as well. Within days of his passing, I found out I was pregnant with my second son Tony. Tony's and my grandfather's birthdays are only a few days apart.

Fast forward a few years... I was lying in bed and woke up because I had a terrible charlie horse in my leg. At the time, the only time I ever had had charlie horses was when I was pregnant. Within seconds and I mean seconds my phone rang and it was my mom letting me know that my grandfather Ray passed away. After hanging up the phone, I turned to Tony and told him what had happened and that I think I need to get a pregnancy test. I went out that day and took one and it actually came back negative but I still sensed I was pregnant. A few days later, I took another test, and low and behold I was pregnant. 9 months later our Sydney entered the world and her beautiful face is graced with a dimple. The same dimple that adorned my stunning Aunt Debbi's face (my grandpa Ray's daughter) while she was with us.

Now, I am not a very religious person but I do believe that all of my babies were a gift from my loved ones who passed on. They each resemble my grandparents in their looks and their personality. They are my gifts to keep the memory of my loved ones alive long after they have gone and I thank them every day.

Well, there you have it... my Labor Day Weekend Labor story as well as the story behind my grandparents giving me the gift of my children. Thanks for reading and see you next week!

This blog post is in memory of my Grandma Norma, Grandpa Harry, Grandpa Ray, and Aunt Debbi.