When I visit family and friends in the hospital, I love going by the nursery and seeing all the new born babies. They are so tiny and sweet. It makes me wonder how the heck my mom did it. You see, I was born three months premature. They didn't have the technology back then lthey do today, so how I survived, I have no idea. It must be because my mom didn't give up on me and God had other plans for my future.

When I was born, I weighed 3 lbs, and when it was time to take me home, I only weight 2 ½ lbs. The doctors told my mom she couldn't take me home. I was too small and I wouldn't survive. Mom was stubborn and determined she was going to take her baby home. They tried to tell her if she did, they could put her in jail. She said "Fine but I'll take my baby to jail with me." Finally the doctor decided to let her take me home, probably because there wasn't anything they could do for me and they thought I was going to die anyway.

I cannot imagine what it was like to care for a baby that tiny. It had to be scary. They couldn't even find clothes that fit me. Mom said I fit in doll clothes and they would carry me on a pillow so not to break me. They say the first time my grandfather saw me, he cried because he thought that was the only time he would ever see me alive. My mom had to feed me every hour on the hour because I could only drink very little at a time. She did this round the clock.

Plu,s I had four other brothers and sisters that needed tending to as well. Luckil,y my two older sisters were old enough to pitch in. They became like little mommies to me. I've always wondered if being that premature is one of the reasons I stayed so small.  Who knows? To this day, I love looking at my birth certificate, because back then they would put the babys foot print and the moms thumb print on them, and her thumb was as big as my foot. Amazing!

Anyway, fast forward fifty some years, I'm still here alive and well. Thank you Mom for loving me and taking such good care of me and not giving up. Because of you, I had a chance to live a good life.

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