John Warner Tatum

 We were pleased to welcome John Warner Tatum into the world last night, our fifth grandchild born in the short space of 4 1/2 years. He is shown at right with his mother Suzanne, who looks gorgeous and refreshed, as if she just left the spa or salon. John Warner was born at 8:21 pm EST. He weighed in at 7 lb 4 oz and measured 19 3/4 inches tall. He has a full head of black hair. Mother and son are in good health and doing great, although Papa Bryant is a little emotionally exhausted.

Laura Lee and I have been on standby to take care of big sister Parker. Suzanne called around lunch time yesterday to tell me she was having some contractions, but they were erratic and not close together. Apparently they got much more intense after the call and she went by her doctor’s office mid-afternoon. He told her the baby was coming and to go straight to the hospital. Suzanne put in an urgent call to us at about 3:30 pm to see if we could get to Statesboro, an hour away, to pick up Parker at daycare before it closed at 5 pm, swing by the hospital to get her luggage, and then by her house to pick up the dog. It was no problem and we had Parker back at The Ford Plantation by 6:30 pm.

Two hours later, we got a text message from Bryant that we had a new baby boy. Suzanne did a great job and is feeling fine today, although the labor came on so fast she did a couple of hours the natural way before they could get her an Epidural to ease the pain.

I started this custom of writing about the day each grandchild is born because Laura Lee’s grandfather kept a journal of every day, and his grandchildren could go back years later and find the day of their birth, what happened, how the weather was, etc. We decided I should give these grandkids the same privilege. Little did I know that for each grandchild so far, the news at their birth would involve economic calamities in our country. Today, our politicians are again arguing about how to reduce our national debt without bringing on another recession. President Obama has just been elected to a second term promising to raise taxes on the very wealthy, while many Republicans in the House are sworn to not raise taxes for anyone. It is not ripe for compromise.

The weather in South Georgia has been beautiful this fall, with only a few rainy days recently. Yesterday saw lows in the fifties at night and a high of around 70 degrees on the day of John Warner’s birth. A perfect day to be born.

It’s nice to meet you John Warner. We’re glad you’ve arrived. We brought your big sister Parker over today, and she was happy to meet you as well. It’s going to be a great ride big boy.

And as always, here’s the front page of the New York Times from the day of your birth: