Friday, September 1, 2017

September 1, 1967: Big Brother

Diary entry for September 1, 1967:


Went to doctor this morning. Found out we are going to have a baby. Called Dave at work - he was very surprised and happy. Called Jennings at night.

So, yeah, Mom found out 50 years ago today that she was pregnant while we were living in Los Angeles. Spoiler Alert: As many of you can probably guess, this baby turned out to be my sister Laura Franklin. I won't say anything in advance about when and where she was born, so loyal readers who don't already know can remain in suspense.

I know next to nothing about morning sickness, but I wonder if this pregnancy might explain the recurring fever and generally not feeling well Mom had been experiencing the past few weeks. To save you the trouble of reading through all the old posts looking for clues, here are all the times Mom mentioned "fever" or not feeling well in August:


August 9 diary entry: "I'm running fever this AM."
August 11 letter: "I have started running that fever again. Every morning this time, not every evening like it was before."
August 14 diary entry: "Do not feel well today. . . . Hot and tired feeling."
August 18 letter: "I've already diagnosed my malady as homesickness . . ."
August 24 letter: "I don't know what to tell you about the fever. I don't have it every day now, and according to the thermometer it isn't even over one hundred. I will watch it closely. It probably has something to do with that cyst."
August 25 diary entry: "I did not feel well today so we did not do anything."

Based on Mom's comment about Dad being surprised, it sounds like maybe they weren't trying to get pregnant while we were living in Los Angeles. But do you remember all the champagne they had the night of their anniversary (July 30) and the hangover Mom had the next day? The math kinda works out, so maybe . . .

Mom says they called Dad's parents that night but there is no mention of when Mom informed her mother. It wouldn't surprise me if she asked the doctor's office if she could use their phone before she left, and gave them a few bucks for the long distance charges.

Now you may be concerned about five-year-old me and whether or not this pregnancy will slow down the whirlwind pace we've been on since shortly after we moved to Los Angeles in July. We haven't even been to Disneyland yet. Based on the photo album, though, I think I'll be just fine.

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