Happy New Year ! January, 2008
I’ve loved getting Christmas cards and especially pictures and now I’m writing back. When I sat down to write this, I started to make a list of all the good things and all the bad things that happened this year. After thinking about it, I realized that is not really a good idea because some of the things that seem good at first turn out bad later and vice versa. So I will give a little history of what happened this year. I'll tell you one thing about 2007- I didn't sit around much- it was a busy year for me and my family and I am very thankful to have the health and energy to stay busy.
My time is divided between working at home as a wife and mother and working at my birth center as a midwife. I go to my office at the birth center almost every day of the week and sometimes also on weekends. Sunday has always been the most popular day for my clients to have their babies. In 2007, I delivered 79 babies- 43 boys and 36 girls. I have been busier in other years, but this was plenty busy enough for me. About half of those were born at the birth center and about half were homebirths. 2007 went out with a bang with 3 baby boys born on New Years Eve! The biggest baby of the year was 10 lbs., 5 oz- a boy- 4th baby, born at home in Cypress. The smallest baby was 5 lbs., 3 oz- a boy, 2nd baby, born at home in Katy. Had a couple smaller than that had to go to the hospital while the mom was still in labor because they were premature. Nine women had to go to the hospital for various reasons. Seven of those needed c-sections. One baby had to go to the hospital immediately after the birth. I'm sorry to say four babies I helped with have been born this year with major birth defects- two with heart problems, one with intestinal problems, and one with a cleft palate. This concerns me because I have never had any of these kind of problems before. For the most part, all of the moms and babies are doing ok now as far as I know. Although I don't think everyone should start out there, sometimes I am very thankful for hospitals.
I spent a lot of time at my birth center this year and still love being a midwife. It's a really big part of my life. I've had some legal problems with my birth center and that has weighed heavily on me, but I think it is all almost worked out. I know worrying about it won’t help, so I just put my trust in the Lord that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and he will help me to keep going. I want to thank all of you who helped me with letters on my behalf, and support in many ways. I want to thank my employees, Camellia May, Debbie Perry, Dena Rogge, and Carmen Aguilar for all their help this year. They help me in many ways- especially Camellia takes care of the clients and me. She is a gem.
I had a big party at my home on Dec. 8th for my clients. About 40 families came and it was wonderful to see all the babies and kids. We had a pretty baby contest and if had been up to me, they would have all won. Someday I’m going to make a trip all the way around the country and see some of my clients who have moved away. I know I’m going to
The other half of my life is my family. We have five boys, but just two left at home. We miss the other ones a lot. Luke and Travis live in
Anson is growing up fast and is in 9th grade. He's a great kid and we love having him around. He's the only one around most of the time because Bonham is always gone somewhere. Anson spends a lot of time playing his guitar. He's an excellent player. His current plan is to be a chemical engineer when he goes to college. One day last summer he went to work with my husband for a few hours. The next day, George found some of his business cards where Anson had crossed out George's name and written his in. Anson makes good grades and seems to have quite a few friends.
Bonham turned 17 this year and we know our time with him is growing short. He got his drivers license this year in February, and he has a silver 1986 El Camino that he drives (Luke's old car). Unfortunately, he had a minor wreck in October and hasn't been able to drive it since then. It's in the shop now. Bonham is planning to go on a mission for our church after he graduates. He is planning to get a job next summer to save money for that. He hopes to finish his Eagle Scout project in January. He is collecting medical supplies for an organization called Mothers Without Borders for a hospital in
My husband, George, had a usual year of traveling and working as an instrument engineer all over the world. He went to mainly Trinidad and the
My mom is 80 and getting very frail. She is living in a good nursing home in Canyon,
Other important events of 2007:
· Great vacation to
· Trips to
· Our little ferret, Brownie died- we all miss her (February)
· Painted our porch white- looks a lot better (April)
· Continued as Sunday school teacher for the 9 yr old class at church – 8 kids that give me a run for my money
· Received the Woman of Excellence Award from Mayor Bill White and the Federation Houston Professional Women (September)
· Continued as President of Assoc. of Texas Midwives, an association dedicated to moving midwifery forward in
Best Books I read in 2007
· The Wit and Wisdom of Ben Franklin
· The Tao of Willie by Willie Nelson
· Farewell to Jackie (About last years of Jackie Kennedy’s life)
· Without A Map (Memoir of a woman who gave her baby up for adoption)
· In the Ruins of the 3rd Reich (About life in
· Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent (About a midwife in
· I Walked the Line (Book by Johnny Cash’s first wife, Vivian)
Best movie I saw in 2007: Sicko
I started a blog this year-my goal is to write on it and eventually use my notes from that to write a book about my experiences as a midwife. You can read it at if you are interested. www.lifeofamidwife.blogspot.com.
The best times we had in 2007 were when we were with friends and family. We can never get enough of that. Hope to see all of you that this goes out to many times in 2008.
With love,
Jackie Griggs
