More About Me
Now that you have a general idea of who I am and how I got that
way, we'll delve into my adulthood.
(I must be crazy)
After graduation and getting my first job at General Electric, I moved
to Chicago (as stated on previous page). This was
the Disco Era and I was a Disco Queen. Full blown, outrageous and incredibly
good. The woman who danced with Travolta had nothing on me! I had the wardrobe,
the attitude and all the moves. Paid off too...had the right partner and
we kicked butt on the dance floor. Can't tell you how many trophies we
had or how much cash we won in that time period. I leaned towards the Latin
rhythms, he liked the Urban funk. Combine the two and you have magic! Make
fun if you like, but this is about me and I had the time of my life! (that's
all you get to know about that..besides, I can't remember a whole lot of
it...if you get my drift)
The Recovery Period
I was 21, an absolute mess, and headed for the shelter of
my family. Wisest choice I had made in a very long time. I had learned
a lot in Chicago and the lessons are still with me today. I can survive
and thrive in any situation.
My parents were, as always, wonderful. They asked no questions, they
allowed me to go into a vegetative state and heal myself. My brother Dennis,
was a whole different story. He was married, had his first child Sean,
and thought I was a spawn of the devil. His wife, Sharon, thought I was
great. I taught her how to do some disco dances, and lots of catchy phrases
used in Chicago. My sister Eileen was just terrified of me.
Once I was sane, I landed at job as an Accounting Clerk for FS, Inc.
I had the joy of matching railcars full of phosphate, or goat chow, or
some other bizarre farm supply to the actual stock in Midwest distribution
centers. Oh boy!! I got in contact with my childhood friend Joanne and
we quickly worked out that she would come to Illinois. She was a mess too.
Uh-oh.
After Joanne arrived, we lived at my parents home, then quickly found
our own apartment. Serious Uh-oh.
Nosediving to the Altar
with one of my favorite men, my grandfather!
Parties always seemed to just "develop" at our place. We didn't plan
them, we didn't invite anyone, we didn't know 3/4 of the people who were
in our home most of the time. Eventually, we learned their names, but it
didn't really matter. My sister was famous for inviting her boyfriends
to our place. If she had done this with just one, there would have never
been a problem, but no...she invited ALL of them at the same time. That's
how I met my future first ex-husband. (I actually met him at my parents
house. My sister begged me to come over and see this guy she was going
to a carnival with. He was a blonde Sylvester Stallone she told me. Well
hey...had to see that! She was wrong.)
Michael David Bauchens looked lost. Sitting on my couch, Heineken in
one hand, cigarette in the other, just looking around. I climbed up onto
the back of the couch, sat down behind him, put my feet in his lap and
asked how he was. I was just trying to make him feel comfortable. The first
words he said to me were an omen, but I didn't know it at the time: "I'm
tired".
Okay, he wasn't a blonde Stallone, but he was cute. He had a moustache
and I'm a sucker for a tickly moustache. Add a beard to that and I'm just
goofy about ya! But I stray....he started hanging around our place more
often. Next thing I know, he's moving in. Next thing I know, we're planning
a wedding. Next thing I know, 3 months from the date I met him....we're
married. Uh-oh.
Bring on the children!
Caitlin Eileen Bauchens ("Punkinpie") was born in St. Joseph's Hospital,
Bloomington, IL on June 25, 1980. I had a wonderful pregnancy with her
and enjoyed every minute of it until June 24, 1980. We did Lamaze classes,
we put together a fun puzzle for me to "focus on" when I was so hugely
pregnant I could barely move. My due date was June 15th...Fathers Day.
Father's Day came and went. It was summer. I was phyically wiped out.
We waited for the onset of labor. We waited. We waited. He got frustrated...I
got bigger. One evening (June 24th) he decided that Mexican food would
get me started. At this point, anything sounded good. He ran to Taco Juan's
in Normal, IL and came home with almost every item on the menu. Only he
had them make it hot. I mean HOT!
Two hours after eating, we hit the sack. Oh well, at least we had a
fun dinner. It was 11PM and I was wiped out. Just as Michael had fallen
asleep (usually 2 secs after his head hit the pillow), I had a seering
pain in my back. Was this labor? I laid there. I waited. Two minutes later,
another hit. Oh my. Uh-oh. Two minutes later, another. Hey wait! They're
supposed to be 20 minutes apart and gentle at first! Two minutes later
it struck again. MICHAEL, WAKE UP!!! He almost fell out of bed. I told
him this was it. He told me he was tired (remember the omen??). He scrambled
for my hospital bag, I tried to get out of the damn bed while pain like
a sabre slicing through my back came every two minutes. This isn't the
way it's supposed to be!
We get in the car and he floors it. He wants to run every stop light
on the way to the hospital. We get there and the staff is all over me!
Two minutes! Get her in a bed! Get her on a monitor! Get her an enima!!
WHAT!!!!!
I was panting, cursing, sweating, cursing, and in major labor. I thought
I'd have the baby within minutes. Yeah, right! By the end of the first
8 hours, I was begging for someone to get the salad sporks and yank her
out. I wanted every drug they had in the cabinet. I wanted whatever this
was OUT OF ME!! I thought of my mother. I'd asked her at the beginning
of the pregnancy to tell me what labor was like. She told me it was like
having a tremendous bowel movement. No problem there I figured. She lied!!
We'd forgotten the puzzle for me to focus on so I stared at the lights
of the Holiday Inn sign til 8am when they turned them off. NO!!!! Within
minutes, the nurses had called the Holiday Inn, explained the situation
and they turned them back on. Luckily, it was an overcast day and I could
see them clearly.
The student nurse assigned to me stayed on past her shift just to see
what this lunatic patient of hers would deliver. God knows what she was
expecting. At 1:11pm, 13 hours after my labor attacked me, Caitlin was
born.
She was not at al what I expected. She looked like a monkey. Long dark
hair, a scrunched up face (remember the baby Rocky Balboa had in Rocky
II?). My family was ecstatic! Michael went out to tell them of Caitlin
as I was being wheeled into recovery and I saw my mother punch him. It
warmed my heart.
Alison Rita Bauchens ("Peapod") was born almost 2 years later on
August 2, 1982. Caitlin had grown out of her "baby" period (not that she
ever really acted like one) and I was ready for another. Alison was planned
and her pregnancy was a complete joy. Labor was as the books described...slow,
gentle, and this time we waited to go to the hospital til the last minute.
In the two years since Caitlin was born, methods had changed and this time
there was no enema involved (thank you!!!). I was the only woman in labor
that night so I had the run of the floor. I wandered everywhere...walking
through the contractions, visiting in the waiting room with my family until
they had to come capture me for one test or another. Finally, after about
6 hours, an old German nun came into the room and said very slowly..."You
haffink a babeee?"...I said "Errrrrrryessssss" (I was in the middle
of a contraction) and she just pointed down the hallway and said "You go
now". No arguing with that so off I went!
The final stages of labor were really bad. They gave me Demerol in
my IV and it helped enormously with the pain, but the projectile vomitting
was annoying. At least it kept me distracted. Off I went to the Delivery
Room. Can't say that I remember my future first ex-husband being there
but I'm sure he was. Alison was born easily. She had the tiniest bit of
beautiful blonde hair that was barely visible. Bright blue eyes, a kissy
mouth and ploofy cheeks. Absolutely gorgeous! There was a small chink in
the armor after she was born. The numbness for the episiotomy had worn
off and they were stitching me without it!! In the Recovery Room, with
still nobody else in labor, they allowed my mother to come back and sit
with me. I held Alison, my mother sat beside me and it was a moment in
time I will always treasure. I do remember Michael being there...he was
tired.
There might be more
to tell you about if you're still interested!
