The Ice Storm of '03

Everybody is growing up. I just don't understand how this could happen. Two nights ago, I told Carter the story of what happened 5 years ago. He was in my belly and growing very large. The doctor said that he could come at any minute and they would just let him - even though there were still 4 weeks to go for my due date. This news caused me to be nervous and hyper-aware of every twinge, cramp, or inkling. I would pause, stare out into space, and think "was that it?" Right as we received this news, Lexington experienced the worst ice storm in it's history. I awoke on a Sunday morning to hear: crack, pop, crack......CRASH!!! That happened over and over until I could no longer ignore it. I waddled out to the living room and looked out the front windows. Every surface was coated with at least an inch of ice. That doesn't sound like much, but it was devastating to our neighborhood in particular. The tree branches were literally encased in ice. The tree branches were breaking under the weight and crashing to the ground. I looked out the back door to find the huge, old trees back there were terribly damaged, dropping many of their branches. I hurried back to the bedroom where Nathan lay unconcerned and unphased. I woke him up to dutifully inform him that the neighborhood looked like it had been bombed with ice. He could barely muster a response.
As the time to go to church drew nigh, I informed Nathan that he was crazy to venture out and even crazier if he thought I was going to get into a car with a baby in my belly in this kind of weather emergency. He left us anyway assuring me that it couldn't be that bad and Presbyterians don't cancel a worship service. I stayed safe at home and decided I should go ahead and shower just in case the electricity might go out. Of course, right in the middle of my shower, the lights flickered and the room went dark. Fortunately, the water heater is gas powered, so I seriously considered just staying in the shower for awhile since I knew it was going to get cold in the rest of the house. Nathan returned from church laughed that it was very bad out there and that there was a grand total of 8 people at church. HA!
It became apparent that the electricity was not going to come back on any time soon as we heard tales of the tens of thousands of homes without electricity. Our house was getting cold, and dark and Nathan started phoning around -with the cell phone we'd gotten because of the baby in my belly- to our church friends to try to find a floor to sleep on. Every house that had electricity was hosting 2 or 3 other families and had no room for us. We were getting a little panicky and I remember feeling like little Carter in my belly was the safest one of the three of us because he was in a nice, warm home.
We finally decided we were going to have to go to Nathan's parents house an hour away and just take vacation days for Monday. Nathan's dad is a doctor and though he said he would rather not deliver Carter, he could do it if absolutely necessary. We packed up some clothes and perishables and climbed into the SUV and started trying to get out of town. We turned down the Fontaine, but it was blocked. We wove our way over to Richmond Road, and it was blocked with fallen trees. At last, we slowly found a safe route from a policeman and headed to the interstate.
As we traveled down the road, I couldn't help but feel I must know what it was like to be Mary. Here we were, a baby ready to arrive at any time, no place to stay, and wondering what would happen next. We made it safely to Irvine and nested in Mimi and Doc's house. I made a construction paper scene for Carter's room that is still in his room now. Three sheep, a daddy, a mama, and a baby gazing up at a night sky that spells out Carter's name.
Though our neighborhood was still without power, the rest of the city was trying to get back to work. A lovely family from church offered us a room and took exceptional care of us. As it turned out, their daughter was the head resident in Labor and Delivery the day Carter was born AND she was subsequently my doctor for Will. I saw them Sunday and reminded them of our adventure together five years ago. They both smiled wistfully acknowledging that it doesn't seem like it could have been 5 years. That's about the time Carter appeared at my side, so tall and non-baby-like.
Carter didn't show up until his exact due date. And now he wants to see pictures of the ice and trees and him in my belly. I better start hunting for them.