2002

Yes, that’s right…it’s that time of year again when the Norton’s regale you with tales of the year’s adventures. This time, however, the letter is from the Norton Family! That’s right…on October 9, 2002, Mahalia Sol Norton (named after Gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson) made her arrival to this lovely planet! Didn’t know I was even pregnant? Well, I have ghastly pictures from an Outward Bound belly painting party to prove it! 

It’s funny to write about the year in retrospect because we must’ve gotten pregnant right around New Year’s Eve, which we spent at a roof top party in NYC (that‘s not where we got pregnant). Unaware, we then went downhill skiing in Wisconsin two weeks later with my dad. It was on a gray day in January when I finally did the little home pregnancy kit, smiling mischievously at Billy as he walked through the door, returning from a day of work in which one of his students threw a chair at another…”We’re having a baby!” I declared. Well, that was the start of a special year…

Billy continued his work as a high school English teacher at Best Practice HS on the West side of Chicago. It’s a small public school affiliated with National Louis University. This year, however, he’s teaching freshmen, as opposed to last year’s juniors, and they are keeping him busy. He is always grading papers, preparing lessons, or meeting with kids after school. He can often be heard lamenting, “These essays are horrrrible!” I have continued working as a school social worker at St. Ignatius College Prep, but have been on maternity leave most of this semester. We got cable TV just for this occasion, and I am now addicted to the cooking channel.

Last winter, I had been planning on skiing the Birkie, my usual xc ski marathon in Wisconsin, but had the excuse of being pregnant to get out of it.  Still, we got a break from the city and rented a cabin with a bunch of fellow skiers/Outward Bound staff. It was a beautiful, snowy time, and made us long for some winter camping! We filled that wish by taking a group of students from St. Ignatius on a winter camping, xc skiing, and dog sledding trip through Voyageur Outward Bound’s winter program in Ely, MN. Billy actually camped out with the group, while I just did a day trip of dog sledding out to meet them. I think the whole thing can be summed up by the story of Billy finding ground chicken meat in the pocket of his parka…no wonder the dogs liked him so much!

In April, my mom moved here to Chicago from Indiana to come and help get the baby’s room ready and eventually to help with the baby. God was so good, and we actually had a studio apartment open up in our building! So we’re neighbors, and it couldn’t be better! She has been such a big help, not to mention great company and we feel blessed to have her love and support.

In May, Billy and I took a weekend excursion to Asheville, North Carolina. We ran into some Outward Bound friends there and enjoyed the misty, green Smoky Mountains. We visited Table Rock Mountain, stayed in an old log cabin on the outskirts of town, and ate biscuits and grits two days in a row! We considered this our anniversary trip which we usually take in September, knowing that in September we’d be too pregnant to do much of anything. 

On June 1st, Billy’s sister Tara got married, so we headed to New York to be bridesmaids. Yep, both of us. It was payback for Billy’s sisters being our best men. It was a wonderful time with family, and we were so blessed to add Uncle Matt to the family! We spent most of June here in Chicago, enjoying the warmer weather. Billy finished up work, while I continued taking classes for my PhD program in Clinical Social Work. Then, we headed up to the Voyageur Outward Bound School where Billy instructed an 8 day Parent/Child course, followed by a 28 day youth-at-risk course. I directed that course from Homeplace, our basecamp, and essentially got to be Billy’s boss…yeah, that was a real stretch. We both learned so much in our work up there, and of course, enjoyed the beauty of the Northwoods once again.

When we returned to Chicago in late August, we had several weddings to attend, including my dad’s. He got remarried to a wonderful woman named Elizabeth, giving Mahalia 5 grandparents, and 4 great grandparents! I went back to work for several weeks, but took my maternity leave early, thinking the baby would come sooner than later because she was so big. Wrong! She was two weeks late, which meant a month of walking, waiting, cleaning, organizing, and driving Billy nuts!

When the day finally arrived, however, we went through 18 hours of labor, 10 of which were so stressful that Mahalia was whisked away to ICU for 36 hours immediately upon being born. She wasn’t breathing, was incredibly stressed, limp and pale. It was a very scary time, and I honestly feel like we witnessed a miracle. She got strong so fast, thanks to prayers from people all around the world, and she took to breastfeeding like a champion. Since her birth, life has been a series of wonderful visits from family and friends, gift packages being sent in the mail, warm emails and phone calls, and so much love. The first month was a rough transition and recovery for all of us, but now she is smiling, laughing, cooing, oh, yes, and pooping like it’s her job!

We are blessed to have a healthy daughter and are blessed to say our families are doing well also. They have been such a support to us, as have all of you, and we continue to see God’s love in our lives through all of your kindness and friendship. The world is a big, crazy place to bring a child into, but we try to live each day intentionally so that Mahalia will grow up wanting to both enjoy the world, as well as save it. We are praying for peace in these troubled times, and also that you and yours are filled with JOY now and always.

With love, Billy, Christine and Mahalia