Let the Sun Shine

Okay, holidays are over ... bring on the sun. I used to think of myself as such a night person, but now once the sun goes down I think it's really late and time for bed.

Fortunately, the days are getting longer ...

Unfortunately, at only a couple minutes a day, it takes awhile until London actually gets an evening of sunshine. It won't be until March 13 that the sun stays up past 6pm.

:: :: ::

And speaking of days being short ... young Maxwell makes 16 today. Just sixteen years ago today my sister was writhing in pain, poor darling. That is until her hero, the anesthesiologist, came in to adminster the epidural.

She was wearing a band around her belly which measured the contractions. She's been suffering quite badly through levels 4 and 5. I stood behind her nurse, squirming, when the meter read 8 and a half. That's gotta hurt. Karen was lying on the bed, talking to her husband, seeming twice as calm with twice the pain.

"Oh my god," I whispered, nudging the nurse.

"Shhh," she said. The contraction ended, according to the machine, and the nurse said, "Sweetie, you just had a little contraction. Did you feel anything?"

Little? It was twice as bad as the one 20 minutes ago when I thought she'd die.

Karen rolled her head over to our side, and in an unusually serene voice said, "I. Didn't. Feel. Dick."

She's classy, my baby sister.

Happy Birthday, Max. Now hurry up and get your driving license!