24

24th- today is my 24th birthday. This is also my 24th blog post. In honor of turning 24, I have decided to share the story of my birth and to reflect on my adventures thus far. Seeing  how I don’t remember the events of July 3, 1997, I have invited my parents to co-write with me. I hope that you enjoy their telling of the story of how I came into this world. The following is the account told from each of their perspectives:

Tonia (Mom):

I was the New Directions youth director, and it was summer which meant my schedule was PACKED!  Rick and I went for a check-up on June 30, 1997, and I was TOTALLY unprepared when Dr. Gary told us we would be induced on July 2nd; having a baby was on my calendar for July 17th!   

Highlights of July 2nd night and the next day included: 

·      Late night conversations with Kris Bates, my favorite nurse.

·      Rick pushing on my back to relieve labor-pain while I was curled over a yoga ball in a linen closet next to our hospital room because there was a severe storm resulting in a tornado watch during the annual WCH fireworks display.

·      Karen Moon, my dear friend who loaned me the cutest maternity clothes, dropping by to see how things were going as she left the fireworks. 

·      Knowing Mother, Mindy and Mel were waiting in the waiting room.

·      Getting a phone call from my sweet friend, Marti, asking why it was taking so long?

·      Being exceedingly grateful for modern medicine, epidurals and c-sections specifically, while coming to a realization of why women die during childbirth during hours 16-19, my pushing hours. 

·      Steve, the epidural-guy, being my FAVORITE labor and delivery participant, after three hours of pushing, while the nurse kept saying, “Just keep pushing, the head is showing, there’s lots of dark hair. The baby is almost here.”  NOT!! Remember that death-during-childbirth epiphany?  I would have welcomed meeting Jesus at that point, if I hadn’t been waiting 26 years to realize the goal of being a mother, which I recorded in my purple 2nd grade “Open House” booklet in response to the statement, “When I grow-up I want to be…”.

·      10:07 – Hearing the most wonderful sound in the world – Caleb’s first cry.  I couldn’t see him but I could hear him. All was well. 

·      A few hours later, 10 family and friends were in our room celebrating and sharing their love with our sweet baby boy.  By the time we headed home Caleb had welcomed 19 visitors. 

·      Sitting in my hospital bed holding my new baby with mourning-tears running down my checks, something about Caleb’s mouth looked just like his Grandpa Pee Wee.  They would never meet; my dad had been gone for two years.  But he lives on through our stories and the DNA of his now 24-year-old McLanahan Schluep grandson.

Rick (Dad): 

What do a closet, a tornado warning, Don King and quality cigars have in common? The shortest of answers would be … Caleb.

It was the summer of 1997 when Tonia’s nine-month pregnancy journey was about to reach a most-blessed conclusion, ushering in the start of a whole new chapter in our lives as brand-new parents. We had done our best to ensure a summer birth in order to line up with my lengthy summer vacation from my work as an elementary teacher. Check that one off. In true Tonia fashion, she worked nearly right up to the time for us to make the short drive to Fayette Memorial Hospital. All during her pregnancy, Tonia was hopeful to have a “natural” birth of our first child, but it became obvious as the time neared for our baby to arrive that he or she (we wanted to be surprised) was growing and growing and if you readers aren’t aware, Tonia is all of 4-foot-10 ½ and in the ballpark of 100 pounds when not pregnant. Our great friend and family doctor, Dr. Gary Pearson, wanted to help things along a bit so the decision to induce labor was made prior to us heading to the hospital.

During the -- and this is not a typo -- 19 hours of labor, we had to spend some time in a hospital closet as tornado warning sirens blared. I was massaging Tonia’s back as she valiantly endured the hours of intense pain when some good friends stopped by to see how things were going. They had been enjoying the July 2 fireworks in Washington Court House and knew that labor had begun a while ago for Tonia. They likely were surprised when they walked in on Tonia still in labor.

The decision to have a C-section was made during the morning of July 3. It was apparent that the baby’s head size was not conducive for a natural birth, so I scrubbed my hands and arms, gowned and masked up, and headed into the operating room, joining the medical team and Tonia. I remembered being asked if I wanted to watch as the surgeon cut into Tonia and the baby was removed from her womb. I hadn’t had much sleep and I hadn’t eaten much, so I was likely a little wobbly, but I also knew I didn’t want to miss anything, plus Tonia had truly done all the work. As much as possible, I wanted to capture every detail.

I will never forget when the baby boy arrived. He seemed to lock eyes with me and as if on cue he let out a room-filling cry that to me seemed more like a scream. I have that effect on people. Caleb’s loud cry was met by a cry of my own, as I was overcome with emotion, blubbering under my mask. I was also taken by the large amount of dark hair that covered Caleb’s head. I recall later that Caleb’s hair reminded me of boxing promoter Don King’s hairstyle—black hair that stuck straight up.

Later that day, the celebration of Caleb’s arrival was officially kicked off with the lighting of cigars outside the hospital by Dr. Gary, Caleb’s Uncle Gary and one very grateful and proud dad.

Caleb: The Rest of the Story

            A lot has happened in my 24 years on this earth. The early years consisted of sitting in the rocking chair with my mom as she sang to me and read me stories and wrestling on the floor with my dad. As I got older, I discovered the world of make-believe. I would dress up in costumes and fully commit to playing the character of the day, regardless of my surroundings. I remember sporting my green tights and brandishing a plastic dagger as I went to the post office or the store dressed as Peter Pan. Somewhere during that time my brother Reece was born. My earliest memories are of visiting him in the hospital. Growing up together, we would spend all day playing in the back yard. We were the Pirates of the Caribbean or Jedis taking on Darth Vader, or any number of other characters from our favorite movies. Another significant thing that happened somewhere during this period of my life was that I accepted Jesus as my Savior. This took place at a Christian music festival known as Ichthus.

A few years after Reece joined our family, I started school. I made friends and learned a lot. Those early years of school were some of the hardest for me academically because I had undiagnosed dyslexia. I spent the day at school and my evenings fighting through my home work with my mom. As I got older, I learned to cope with my learning challenges and started to excel. Outside of school I played soccer and participated in Cub Scouts. When I was in middle school, I attended a virtual school with a rigorous curriculum. I learned A LOT in middle school which set me up for success when I went back to public high school. When I was learning at home, I worked hard to finish all my work early so that I could spend the summer in Texas being a cowboy with my Grandma Cheta. I would gather cattle on horseback and help vaccinate or tag or brand. I attribute those summer experiences as my first real adventures. During my middle school days, I also started attending New Directions, which is a community youth program that my parents had been instrumental in starting years ago. I attended summer mission trips through New Directions starting the summer after my 6th grade year. These trips were when my faith became my own. In addition to youth group, middle school was when I stopped being a Cub Scout and started being a Boy Scout. My scout journey was one filled with epic canoe trips and summer camps where I would earn countless merit badges as I pursued my Eagle Scout, a goal which I achieved right before my 18th birthday.

Upon entering high school, I really started to excel. I played football, joined drama club and performed in a number of plays and musicals, I was an officer for the National Honor Society, and I was the school mascot. I had a lot of fun running from thing to thing and I can truly say that I made the most of that season of life. After high school, I attended Messiah College where I studied adventure education. I grew a ton during my four college years, earning my bachelor’s degree in 2020. I learned to love adventures and I made lifelong friends. I was a three-year member of the LOFT team, which completely changed my life. I learned to accept the gifts and abilities that God had given me and I learned to use them to serve him. I also met Sarah, who I have been dating for the past 3 ½ rears. My college summers were spent working at Kenbrook Bible Camp, running the adventure programming there and learning to apply my degree in the real world. My college career stretched me in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. I did grow in my academic knowledge, but more importantly my relationship with Christ grew and grew. I am incredibly thankful for the time that I got to go away and prepare for the work that awaits me in the service of my King.

Today I turned 24 and that excites me. I’m not sure what chapter will be added to the story of my life in this coming year, but I am confident that it will be a good one. I know that my God will be with me on my journey and with God there, there is nowhere I would rather be.   

Special thanks to my parents for their contributions to this post.