Mom and Dad told us they had always wanted another child, but the timing was off for one or the other of them until suddenly they realized they both were ready at the same time. I remember the night they told my brother and me. They made a big deal of calling us into the kitchen and telling us they had big news but we had to keep it a secret. After we begged to share the news, they finally relented and allowed us each to tell 1 person. (They were always this way. We were always allowed to open at least 1 present before Christmas. One Christmas, when we were in Asheville with my grandparents and all the family was there, we all got excited and opened everything under the tree ... on Christmas Eve! We may have regretted it the next day, but it sure was fun that night!)
I remember during baseball season, mom was at my brother's game and talking to Dr. McKinney, whose son was on the team, too. Dr. McKinney and mom were buddies. He was a neurosurgeon who taught at Bowman-Gray Medical School and had used mom's brain in the new sonogram research. Anyway, she confided that her plan was to name the baby Daniel McCame, after my two grandfathers, if it was a boy and call him "Mac", but she had no ideas for girls name. Dr. McKinney piped up and said that because Mother was such a Southern lady (which she never believed) a daughter would need a proper Southern name. He suggested "Leslie Leigh".
One day when she was far along in her pregnancy, mom went to a men's clothing shop to pick up things for daddy. Now it was 1975 and mom was 33 years old, soon to be 34. It was a big deal for her to be pregnant at that age in that time, let alone out shopping in the last days of the pregnancy. I think my grandmother was with her. As I remember, I got a phone call that they were taking mom to the hospital because her water broke in the shop. Later it was recanted that there were 3 (!) obstetricians in there, too, and none of them realized what happened. Mom was mad that her mother insisted on her going to the hospital instead of letting her go home and clean up. (I'm guessing her water never broke before she was at the hospital with my brother or me.) Even though her water had broken, delivery was not imminent and my sister was delivered the next day via C-section. Mom and Dad named her "Leslie Leigh" just as Dr. McKinney had suggested. She weighed 7lbs 8oz.
Rules were strict back then and due to my brother's age, we didn't go see her in the hospital. Because my grandparents were with us and had my bedroom, I was sleeping on the couch in the living room. I remember hearing the door and opened my still very sleepy eyes to see Mom walking in with her arms full. In my sleepy state, I thought she had our fluffy cat in her arms, then suddenly realized it was my baby sister. And I fell in love with her. Still am!
What can I say about Leslie? She's funky, quiet, and brilliant. She makes it a point to learn something new every day. She looks 10 years younger than she is. She's an unbelievably great aunt who knits mermaid blankets for my grandgirls. She's talented and creative. She's humble. She has a childlike quality. She's undemanding and completely non-confrontational. She yields. She has a huge heart. She loves pretty much all animals and would run a zoo, I'm sure, if she could --- but it would be filled with the imperfect, rescued specimens. She's beautiful. She's loving and always kind. She's a peacemaker.
Dear little sis. I love you so very much. I'm so glad we live close together and sit and talk about random things. You are a gift to many. Happy birthday!
