Matthew Clinton

Eight years ago today we were at Ft. Stewart, GA visiting Second born Army guy and his family. That was one of those bonus years too because we were also visiting First born Army guy and his family because they conveniently lived right across the playground from each other.

But the main reason for our visit centered around Second born Army guy because he and his wife were expecting their third child.

Everything was going so well that day. As the daylight hours progressed it became increasingly apparent that labor had begun and that our beautiful daughter-in-law was determined to remain at home as long as possible. She had not been able to get an epidural with her second baby and appreciated the experience so much that she didn't want to be tempted with this one.

At her previous doctor's appointment, everything looked good. The head was engaged and the baby seemed to be poised for a grand entrance. But a couple of day's before the 9th, my two daughters-in-law and I had taken a brisk walk to maybe get things moving. We were walking very quickly when my daughter-in-law caught her toe on an uneven sidewalk and she went down - hard. With every bit of strength and will power that she had, she protected her baby and landed on her hands and knees but we didn't know then that there would be some serious ramifications.

I was so impressed with her home laboring. I could tell she was getting close but we were only minutes from the hospital so she persevered at home as long as possible. She was incredibly strong and brave as she worked through every contraction. Finally, she was ready to go, and she and my son headed for the hospital with my other daughter-in-law and I close behind.

We arrived at Labor and Delivery in time to see a lot of commotion in the room where they'd been taken. There seemed to be an air of restrained panic and we heard someone say something about an arm and a leg presenting.

She was between 7 and 9 centimeters when we got there but the fall that she'd suffered had dislodged the baby and he was now ready to come out sideways which, of course, is not possible. The doctors tried turning him to no avail and finally Matthew arrived via emergency c-section.

All's well that ends well and here he is not enjoying his first checkup.


He was big, strong, and healthy and he's been on the run every since.

Matthew is a sweet, loving, smart boy and a natural athlete who plays with an intensity that you seldom see in one so young. He's equally skilled in soccer, basketball and football.

He also has a great sense of humor, an aptitude for math, and a sweet spirit. Along with these incredible attributes, he was born on our wedding anniversary.

So please join me in wishing this extraordinary anniversary present a happy birthday!