Dear Charlie,

On your birthday, I want to say thank you for giving me the BEST job in the entire world. You made me a MOM. I am forever grateful that you gave me the honor of being your mom. I can’t believe that 11 years have gone by.  It is going so fast. You are now coming to me and asking about wearing deodorant. (LOL, a natural brand of course). But I swear, just yesterday I was pushing you around in a baby stroller around New York City, and learning how to “sleep train” you.  

I look back at what happened 11 years ago with such joy. I went to see my OB/GYN on May 6th, 2008 for a regularly scheduled appointment that morning. My doctor told me I had something called “preeclampsia”, probably because I had gained *75 POUNDS* during the pregnancy.  She said that would be my last day at work and I was going to be “induced” into labor the next day and I would be having this baby earlier than we had planned. I went back to the newsroom at Fox News in NYC and told my colleagues I was really having this baby…for real. I said my goodbyes to all my colleagues, and they all wished me well.

The next day on May 7th, I was “induced” into labor and it was a long day. I spent many hours in labor. Both your grandmothers were there waiting patiently in the waiting room hoping for some good baby news. We kept the gender a surprise so we had no idea whether you would be a boy or a girl…oh the suspense! That evening I was exhausted from labor. My doctor said that your blood pressure was dropping, and she was getting worried and thought it would be best to have an emergency C-section so you could come out safely and healthy. All of a sudden, we went from a labor delivery to surgical delivery. I was not sure what to expect since I did not plan to have a C-section, but I was ready to meet you. So off we went to the operating room. 

Around 9:30 pm that night of May 7th, you appeared into this world and you made us all so happy. Daddy came over to tell me “IT’S A BOY”. His face lit up with pride. Our first child was a healthy boy. We wanted to name you Charles / “Charlie” after my wonderful dad. The crazy thing is you would actually look like him too, your namesake. We went with Charles Brenner Clarke. Brenner is also a family name from your Daddy’s side. Both your grandmothers cried in the waiting room when Daddy came out to tell them the happy news. The best part is May 7th is also Daddy’s birthday, so you gave him the BEST birthday gift in the world, a baby boy!

From that moment on, everything changed for us. I decided to not return to the TV news business as I simply wanted to focus on being your mom. I waited a long time to be a mom, and I had trouble, in the beginning, getting pregnant and staying pregnant. So I wanted to cherish every minute with you. Since then, you have grown into such a wonderful boy whom I am so very proud of. You love your family, your school, your friends, and all your athletic teams so much. The best part of all is you are kind. Don’t ever stop being kind. That will get you very far. Happy 11th Birthday to our Charlie.  Your mom and dad and sister love you more than you will ever know.

Love,

Mom xoxo

5/7/19