It was 26 years ago today that our 1st born was born, Sean Patrick Perazzelli.
It was about 10:00ish AM on Monday 10/8/84 that Mar's water broke and off to the hospital we sped to spend the entire day there. Mar remembers me leaving her side throughout the day and I of course remember little.
Fast forward- the evening has come, Mar isn't dilated and the premiere of the Burning Bed is on national television....wow...good TV huh? Farrah Fawcett running away from her abusive husband...just what the Dr. ordered.
The movie ended at 11:30...that's how you knew it was really special...it went beyond the normal 11 PM end time. Finally....permission to change channels (yes, we were waiting for our baby to be born) and lo' and behold- Oakland/Seattle and Seattle comes back to beat the Raiders--yay!.
Mar is starting to experience more pain, maybe it was the football, but her desire to go 100% natural is quickly diminishing and with that an epidural is requested...say it's about 12:05ish and the nurse administers the shot and within minutes Margaret is feeling a MAJOR and I do mean MAJOR desire to push. I go and find the nurse who returns with me, takes one look under Mar's gown and say's "DON'T PUSH!, I'm going to get the Dr. and you (pointing to me) need to get your gown on...NOW". So the nurse runs out and I run out to get changed leaving my lovely wife alone with a strong desire to push this baby out!!!!!
Somehow we make it to the operating room in all it's sterility with giant lamps focused down and masked people all around. I have two cameras with me...a Polaroid and some other camera and not one pic came out....they were all out of focus from me shaking.
Mar pushes him out---Stop---HIM, we were not having a boy, we knew we were having a girl and in our own blindness did not realize having a son was in the plans and we did not have any name or any plans on how to proceed. I remember Mar smiling, I remember his head, all pink and elongated like a football (the nurse quickly told me that his head would reshape) and I remember the nurse saying...."it's okay, you can touch him" and I looked at her with seriousness and like are you sure I can touch him? Wow....what a beautiful moment of life.
Mar held him....we were both so young. Mar looked content. I hung till she fell asleep at least I think I did and at some crazy early AM hour drove home from Voorhees to Pine Hill. It was during this time that an amazing thing happened. It was now Tuesday, October 9th and in the dark , dark night while driving home, elated, with the radio on they were playing Beatles and not just any Beatles, but two songs (double shot Tuesday) and all I remember is this incredibly poignant moment happening in that the song that came on was "Beautiful Boy" and John singing to his son Sean. Wow, wow, wow....and after the song was played the DJ came on and said...."Beautiful Boy by John Lennon written for his son Sean who both share today; October 9th as their birthday and all I could think was S-E-A-N, how perfect, how beautiful, how amazing for he, our son, is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.
A few hours later upon returning to the hospital I let Mar know of my of my drive home and of what I thought we should do in naming our son and we did, we named him "Sean" as he shares John and Sean Lennon's birthday and he truly was and is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.
Happy birthday Sean!!!!
I awoke this morn' and was thankful for the day. Hard to believe I have another day before me and I think; what will I do with this day, what will I make of this day, what could possibly stand out and make this day any brighter or sunnier or lively and full of life?
