My Surprise Child

Before our second child was a year old, I found myself pregnant again.

Remember my mother had thirteen children. But, I did not wish to follow in her foot steps!

I was not ready to have another child - I was barely managing the two little ones - one four-year old and one not even a year old. I panicked. 

Cissy was born in New Mexico. 
We named her Cecilia, but we call her Cissy.
Turned out, Cissy, our youngest one, became a real delight to us. She grew up to be the one with the most pleasant personality - bubbly and loving. 
Cissy is different.
Cissy managed to climb out of her crib before she was eight or nine months old.
Cissy did not like to make her bed when she was older, so she opted to sleep on top of the comforter.
Cissy was not very organized, but she was artistic.
Cissy could go to a new place, and within a short time, she would have half a dozen buddies. 
Every one loves Cissy.

Cissy could go and buy a yard or two materials and stitch up some outlandish but interesting clothing, with the most unusual color combinations. Her workmanship may not be first rate, but her design was excellent.

Cissy went to England while she was a college student. When she left the U.S., she had a beautiful but ordinary hairdo. When she came home, I went to the airport to pick her up.  I found a kid with some very short and super unconventional hairdo. I took one look at her and said,
"I don't know if I can take you back to Ada, Oklahoma, Cissy." 
But of course I took her back to Ada. And her hairdo was a Hit with all her contemporaries. 
She still wears a variation of that Vidal Sassoon "experimental hairdo."

She did turn out to be much more organized in later life, and she still keeps her artistic talents. She is always bubbly and loving.

So, we were in Austin, with me expecting her. And my husband decided to consider taking a job in New Mexico with the New Mexico State Health Department. 
That meant we had to leave our nice new home and our friends in Austin, to go to the unknown, once again.

This time, the family did go to Albuquerque, New Mexico, together to check out the city, before he made the decision.
So here I was, big as a cow. 
We drove from Austin to Albuquerque, met S.C.'s future boss. He treated us royally because he wanted S.C. to join the department.
He showed us around town - he even took us to see some model homes - and that was the first time we saw microwave ovens being demonstrated. 
The sales person baked a potato in it and the potato was ready in six minutes. We, together with half a dozen or so onlookers, ooh. .ed and ah..ed over the miracle. 

S.C. decided to take the job. 
Do you think the microwave oven did it?

On our way back to Austin, we took a detour to tour Carlsbad Cavern.
S.C. had to carry Melinda, because she was too little to walk the three or four miles down the cavern. The very pregnant me held Cynthia's hand. We managed to walk down and around the spectacular caves. The views were awesome.
Thank Goodness, they did have an elevator that took us up - back to the ground. Otherwise, I would not have made it.

We got back to Austin, I started packing again.