This is the newest addition to our family. This is Lucy Elizabeth Ann Fite. Her mom is my niece, Rachel Elizabeth Lynn Fite.
When Rachel was born I flew to Germany, with Ashley who was 7 months old at the time. Not a fun flight by the way. Joe and Tina had lost their first child when he was only 11 days old. Robert was a beautiful baby and we all were in love with him. It was the worst thing I had ever been through up until January 12th, 2008. They all lived with Doug and I. At the time it felt like loosing my own child. Now I know that it wasn't even close, but it was still painful for us all. In the way of most of us, I tried to find a reason. Still haven't found one.
I remember 35 years ago July 17th very well. Dad had woke me and the boys up, told us mom had gone to the hospital to have the baby sometime during the night. Then he took us to hoe out tobacco. At least I think it was tobacco, it could have been corn. They were the longest rows in the world. I was 13, joe 12, henry 11. Know any kids now days that you could leave in a field, working under the hot sun, alone, for hours, and know they would do the work? It was a different world. Most of the time our dad would have been out there with us. Mom did her share of outside work too but obviously not while hugely pregnant. Of all the things my parents must have done right to get the results they did, being with us was one of them. We weren't left to sit with a sitter, or in front of a (only 4 channels) tv all day, alone. We worked side by side. We sang silly songs, we heard stories about their lives, and we observed hard work.
Sometime later in the day our Aunt Goldie stopped by to pick us up. Goldie was a very unique person. She was our guardian Angel, Santa, and Fairy Godmother, all rolled into a retired teacher-never married-old maid- great aunt, just for us. I found out many years later when she passed and we were cleaning out her home, that she had helped out many of her relatives over the years. But to us, she was just ours. Every year before school we went to visit her. We would go to the dollar store in down town Jamestown, tn, and get a new pair of tennis shoes. Sometimes maybe 2 pairs, underwear or socks. Most always we went to the 5 and 10 cents store and could pick out a prize. They had a tasty freeze or something on the square and we usually got to get an ice cream cone, she usually had one with us. She would bake a cake of some sort and bring it to us on her visits. Sometimes she came every Sunday, sometimes less. Going to stay at her house for a few days was about the only vacation we were able to have for many years. Going alone was unconditional love and attention.
I remember when she came to get us she wouldn't tell us if the baby was a boy or a girl. She kept the mystery until we were able to get to the hospital. I doubt any of us 3 had shoes on. I also doubt any of our hands were washed before we went. I don't remember if we could even visit inside the hospital. The rules were much stricter then. If we did see Evette during that time she would have been behind the glass in the nursery. We probably had to see mom through the window that may have been open and without screens back then.
I loved that baby so much. We all held her every chance we had. Mom breastfed her and I thought it was the grossest thing I'd ever seen. I remember saying "why are you making her DO THAT?". Funny how I grew up to be such a breastfeeding advocate!! But not too many teenagers really want to see their mom's breast on display ok?
I remember one night mom ask if I wanted to stay up and feed her all night, with bottles of course. It was a very looooooooong night. But I did it. God I wish I could do it again.....
Evette started several years ago a tradition that we try to continue. On each of our birthdays she would say, "now everyone has to go around the room and say what they remember about (whoever's birthday it was)." of course she wanted it to be nice, and mostly it was.
One of my special memories is how she loved my babies. Everyone of them. She hated when they would get older and not let her love on them as much. With Ashley she barely had hips to carry her on. With Amber she could make her smile before most anyone. With Amanda it was the first baby she actually saw being born. Stephanie was the first one she really babysat for and she pretended she was hers. Andrew she almost dropped and cried because of "almost". Matthew she wanted to hold as much as the first one. She never lost that love for babies. I know she has to be loving on Robert, Amanda's lost twin, Tara's lost baby, and all the other babies that need to be loved. She's making them smile with her beautiful smile. She has Grandma Stewart and Aunt Goldie beside her each with a rocking chair and arms full of other babies.
