For Henry

Thursday, May 2, 2019

For Henry

           Nine years ago today high in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, Henry William Schultz made his long-anticipated entrance, the first grandchild in both Bonnie and Bill’s families.  I had been with Bill and Bonnie during those last hours of labor, but when a C-section seemed to be necessary, Daddy Bill only remained at her side.  Later, Bill came out to tell the waiting families of Henry’s healthy arrival, but we were eager to see the little guy.

          Boone had a nice but small hospital, no baby factory like some health centers in St. Louis, Missouri, where we lived at the time.  So, when Grandpa Jim left the waiting area to find a restroom, the sneaky man had walked around some hospital halls and came across the newborn nursery with one little baby.  He returned from his mission and we all followed him back to set our eyes on Henry.  How I would love to have a picture of our motley crew peering through the nursery window.  Before long, Bill walked into the nursery with a hospital gown on and reached out to hold the little hand of his precious son.  Such joy for all although Bonnie’s might have been a bit muted with the C-section and dazed mind by the wonder of it all.

          A few months earlier, Jim and I had made a decision for him to end his job working with adults with disabilities before early summer so we could have a month long adventure in North Carolina when Henry would be born.  Henry’s parents lived in an unusual community built on the side of a mountain—literarily.  About two thirds of the various styles of homes were used as rental properties as well as vacation homes for the owners.  We rented a small, unusually shaped house right along the stream that ran along the highway leading to the development.  The rolling stream mildly thundered right outside our back door.  The new family were a little more than halfway up the wooded mountain along  a winding road.

          According to plan, we had arrived in Boone just a few days before Henry’s due date, hoping to visit some before life became radically different for the young couple. That Saturday, Bonnie went to the hospital close to her due date because her blood pressure was high.  The next morning, a Sunday, Jim and I went to her church, partly to let them know she was about to have the baby.  Congregants gathered outside the sanctuary before each service to get in a circle, begin to praise God and share prayer needs or joys.  A nice practice, we thought.  However, we probably left after that.

          During Bonnie’s hospital stay, Henry was center stage in the room we could all gather in.  Everyone wanted to hold baby Henry, who had a starring role from the beginning.  And when he came home, he was just up the wooded mountain from us. This made daily visits and shared meals possible, something we very much wanted to experience.  We even got to babysit the little man while his parents went out for lunch before we returned to St. Louis.

          Having this month together surrounded by the spring beauty in this region so different from anywhere we had lived was such a special time for all of us, I think. Henry probably was unaware of the blessing of such times: healthy pregnancy, healthy baby, enjoyed by grandparents and aunts and uncles who shared the joy in harmonious ways.  It was one of my favorite times as Bonnie’s mother, who wanted welcomed our help and we delighted in that chance. 

          Henry William has come a long way since that first day of life becoming a good athlete, good student and enjoying so many experiences.  His birthday was perhaps more celebrated that first day than any other.  I hope we will all remember how fortunate we were to celebrate that big day together—on the side of a big mountain in North Carolina.