HAVING MY BABY
(Part Two of THE REANNA MONOLOGUES)




The verdict is in: Scott Peterson has been found guilty of first degree murder for the killing of his wife, Laci, and second degree murder, for causing the death of their unborn son, Conner. Laci was in her last month of pregnancy when she died.

To the very end, I had hoped that he would be found innocent, not because he resembles Ben Affleck, but because there is a part of me that refuses to believe someone could be so evil as to kill his pregnant wife, knowing he would be taking two lives in one fell swoop.

As these events unfolded in public, here in Modesto, no less, something else involving the life of an unborn child was hitting closer to home. I wrote about it in my previous post, but had to strike it from my blog in the interest of "privacy". Nevertheless, I ask those of you who read it to continue praying for that person, and the tiny life she is carrying. (Two words: Street Views.)

This is why I find Scott Peterson's crime so reprehensible. It's one thing to kill your own wife, but how can you be so arrogant as to take your unborn son's life away, without even giving him a chance to take in that first breath of air? Do you realize how many women out there struggle with difficult pregnancies? How dare you terminate a perfectly healthy one, just to get out of a marriage you obviously didn't want to be in? Who made YOU God?

My heart goes out to Laci, who eagerly stood at the threshold of motherhood without quite making it there. The happiest days of my life took place when I was pregnant. There is just something so sacred about carrying a new life for nine whole months.

Alas, for some of us, those nine months are fraught with uncertainty. With me, for instance, it's making it to nine months that's a problem. Now, whenever I look at Reanna, I hold her just a little bit tighter, thanking the Lord that my experience had a happy ending.



It is because I can now carry my literal "happy ending" in my arms that I finally have the luxury of reliving key dates in my pregnancy in this post, the latest installment in "THE REANNA MONOLOGUES".

(Warning: This post contains the lyrics to the Paul Anka song of the same title, which, I've been told, was named one of the cheesiest songs of all time. Consider me a hopeless romantic, but I beg to differ. I happen to think it's the sweetest tribute to pregnancy, and impending motherhood, ever written. Since it topped the charts in 1974, staying at Number 1 for three weeks, I think a lot of women would agree.)


(You're) Having My Baby

(Performed by Paul Anka in a duet with Odia Coates.)
Lyrics and music: Paul Anka
Libretto: Renee Sereno
Pictures: Lorenzo and Renee's camera phones

(Director's Note: Just imagine a music video unfolding in your mind, with the occasional narration and fuzzy pictures. I realize this may be a stretch of the imagination, especially for those born after the 70's, since they may not even know this song at all. However, I believe these lyrics are strong enough to stand on their own, even without the catchy melody.)

(You're) Having my baby
What a lovely way of saying
How much you love me.
Having my baby
What a lovely way of saying
What you're thinking of me.

DATE: a weekday, around the first half of October last year
SETTING: Costco Wholesale Club
CAST: Renee and her sisters-in-law, Selina and Grace

SCENE: Selina gets a pregnancy kit from the shelf, telling her companions she might be pregnant because she hasn't had her period yet. Renee keeps silent. SHE hasn't had her period either, but she's on the pill, so she doubts she is pregnant. Lorenzo, on the other hand, is already certain she is...

I can see it
Your face is glowing
I can see it in your eyes.
And I'm happy in knowing...

DATE: Wednesday, October 22, 2003
SETTING: The Sereno Residence
CAST: Lorenzo and Renee Sereno

SCENE: After watching "Jumanji" with Lorenzo and the kids, Renee retires to the master bath with an e.p.t. she bought at Target. She left Lorenzo napping downstairs, lest he be disappointed with the test results. At this point, Renee is still POSITIVE she is not pregnant, and is genuinely surprised that her test came out...positive! She tells Lorenzo the good news, and they celebrate over The Works burgers at Sweet River.

That you're having my baby.
You're the woman I love
And I love what it's doing to you.
Having my baby
You're a woman in love
And I love what's going through you.

DATE: Sunday, December 28, 2003
SETTING: Emanuel Hospital, Turlock, CA
CAST: Lorenzo and Renee Sereno, Kaiser OB-Gyn Dr. Ishii

SCENE: At 17 weeks, Renee starts feeling contractions three days after Christmas. When they hadn't subsided by late evening, Lorenzo takes her to the hospital. It is their first major scare in this pregnancy. Two days later, Renee has a sonogram and they find out she is carrying a GIRL!

The need inside you
I see it showing
Oh, the seed inside you
Baby, do you feel it growing?
Are you happy in knowing
That you're having my baby?

DATE: Monday, March 22, 2004
SETTING: Monterey and Carmel, CA
CAST: The Sereno family.

SCENE: Lorenzo and Renee go to Monterey on a whim, to celebrate Renee's 36th birthday. They ended up staying the night at Carmel, in what was to be their last vacation before Renee was placed on strict bed rest.


(At the beach in Monterey.)


(Our cottage in Carmel.)


(17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach.)


I'm a woman in love
And I love what it's doin' to me.
(Having my baby...)
I'm a woman in love
And I love what's goin' through me.

DATE: Friday, March 26, 2003
SETTING: LDR, Doctors Hospital, Modesto, CA
CAST: The Sereno family

SCENE: After a trip to the mall (where Lorenzo buys Renee a whole new maternity wardrobe for her birthday), the family goes to Doctors Hospital to monitor more contractions. Renee is ordered to go on bed rest, since she is just at 30 weeks gestation. Meanwhile, Selina finalizes preparations for Renee's surprise birthday party/baby shower the next day.

Didn't have to keep it
Wouldn't put you through it.
You could have swept it from your life
But you wouldn't do it
No, you wouldn't do it.
And you're having my baby.

DATE: Friday, April 23, 2004
SETTING: Examination Room 1, Doctors Hospital, Modesto, CA
CAST: Lorenzo and Renee, with Lance and Troy

SCENE: More contractions send Renee back to the hospital at 34 weeks, the same age Lance was born. This time, she is prescribed a two-week supply of the drug terbutaline to calm her irritable uterus.

I'm a woman in love
And I love what it's doin' to me.
(Having my baby...)
I'm a woman in love
And I love what's goin' through me.

DATE: Wednesday, May 12, 2004
SETTING: Master bedroom, Sereno Residence in Modesto
CAST: The Sereno Family

FINAL SCENE: Over yummy dishes of spaghetti cooked by Daddy, the family waits with bated breath for the name of the latest "American Idol" contestant to be ousted. Renee's favorite, La Toya London is chosen to leave over Jasmine Trias. Renee feels more contractions and sees some spotting, but attributes it to disappointment at the lack of taste of the American voting public. Little did she know that it was already the start of the "bloody show", which would also describe the rest of the "American Idol" season after La Toya left.

Reanna Loren Sereno was born the next day, Thursday, May 13, 2004, sporting dimples just like La Toya's...



And lungs just as formidable.

FOR SOVANNA

This post has been edited in the interest of "privacy". (See TagBoard comments.) I would, however, like to convey my thanks to those of you who prayed for Sovanna and her family, and request that you continue to remember them in your prayers.

Sincerely,

Renee Sereno
November 14, 2004
Modesto, CA

DOUBLE TREAT




Halloween 2004 was a much-anticipated holiday at the Sereno residence.

This year, I made sure to get my costumes early, jumping on a Spiderman costume I encountered at WalMart weeks before October. It was size 4-6, perfect for my son Lance. I wanted to get a Power Rangers costume for Troy, but unfortunately, there was none in his size. I vowed to look for a size 2-4 one elsewhere, but every place I looked had nothing but the next size up.

The buildup to Halloween was exacerbated by Lance's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ortega, who kept sending home ghost, pumpkin and scarecrow themed homework as soon as Fall kicked in. She even sent home a poem for Lance to memorize:

Jack o' lantern, big and scary
Some are sad and some are merry
Some are big and some are small
And some don't have no teeth at all!

I noticed that the word "big" was used twice, and I wasn't too happy about the double negative in the last line, but I guess grammar rules, like all other rules, were made to be broken. Besides, the poem was catchy enough that even Troy was reciting it within days, so I spared Mrs. Ortega the technicality.

Halloween anticipation reached a fever pitch when Lance's kindergarten class went on a field trip to Farmer Woody's Pumpkin Patch in nearby Salida, CA. The children's families were allowed to come, so Troy, Reanna and I followed the big yellow school bus in our little white minivan.

The field trip was held last October 18, a date of great significance for me because it also happened to be my Dad's fifth death anniversary. After recounting my Halloween ghost stories, I was almost sure my Dad would be making his presence felt in the pumpkin patch, in his usual non-threatening way, of course.

I wasn't disappointed. I took the next picture at Farmer Woody's petting zoo. If you click on it to enlarge it, you'll see a perfect orb hovering about Troy's head.




I saw that orb upon reviewing my shot, immediately after taking the picture. It was only a few seconds ago however, when I enlarged the picture myself in my computer, that I noticed a second, smaller orb suspended above Lance, almost perfectly hidden in the tractor wheel.

After noticing that second orb, I gave all my other pictures a second look, and found another orb, located at the exact same spot where the smaller orb was, only bigger this time.




Seeing this picture now, there is no doubt in my mind: Daddy took that field trip with us. He was, in fact, posing for pictures with his grandsons.

My mind wanders years back, to the day Daddy gave us a big surprise for Halloween. I must've been in fourth or fifth grade. Daddy told me and my sister, Maya, to get dressed and then he proceeded to take us on a trip up North to Pampanga. Daddy kept our destination a surprise until we were actually there: Clark Air Base, which was still a U.S. military base at the time.

Daddy took us first to the cafeteria, where we had the best meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy we'd ever tasted in our lives, washed down with a curious-tasting soft drink called "Dr. Pepper". It was our first taste of "authentic American fare", and we loved it.

After our meal, we thought we were going back home. Little did we know that Daddy had the entire evening planned for us. He had a friend who lived in the base who had two daughters our age. They lent us masks (since we didn't have costumes on) and together, all four of us girls joined other kids of American servicemen as they went trick or treating around the base.

I couldn't believe how much candy we got. At that time, imported (or "PX") candy was still hard to come by, and there I was with a year's supply of Sugar Daddies, Fruit Stripes, jelly beans, candy corn, and enough M&Ms, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, Mars and Hershey bars to set me down the road to CHOCOHOLISM for the rest of my life.

It was my first trick or treating experience, and by far my most memorable. After that, I went through a whole "Halloween" phase, borrowing all the Halloween books in the library that I could find, even naming a black kitten I found "Halloween". To this day, I am still an encyclopedia on little-known facts about the holiday. Did you know, for instance, that Halloween, or All Hallows Even, originated from the druids and Celts, and during that time, jack-o'-lanterns were made out of turnips instead of pumpkins?

Pumpkins...pumpkins! I am brought back to the present, and my sons' trip to the pumpkin patch. Lance and Troy had a field day. Lance's class went on a hay ride, followed by a visit to the corn maze. Then came the petting zoo, which I already mentioned, where my two boys squealed with delight at handling the various baby farm animals. There was also a huge turkey that seemed to be stalking Lance, but that's another story altogether.


(Playing with the piglets.)


(That Billy Goat's about to butt you, Lance!)


(Troy pets the spotty calf.)


After that, Lance and Troy got to drive a tractor...


(Lance drives a John Deere.)


(Now it's Troy's turn.)


...before choosing their own pumpkins.


(Knee-deep in pumpkins.)


(Troy got a BIG one!)


(Lance lines up with his pumpkin, marked "Lorenzo".)


Then everyone had a picnic lunch out in the field. The parents were instructed to pack a sack lunch for their kids, but I might have overdone it a bit. My little family occupied a corner of the spread tarpaulin, sharing ham sandwiches, cinnamon bread sticks, circus animal crackers, apples, bananas, juice and pistachio nuts. Mrs. Ortega's eyes widened when she saw our spread, but she looked the other way and wisely kept her silence.

After eating, Lance and Troy posed for pictures before getting ready to leave.







Amazingly, when I asked them what it was they enjoyed most about their trip to the Pumpkin Patch, both of them said it was jumping on the bales of hay.


(Lance takes a leap...)


(...with Troy on his tail.)


This is why I love the magic of childhood, which suffuses even the simplest activities and makes them FUN! Sadly, someone who obviously does NOT have a grasp on this concept ran away with Lance's pumpkin, even though his name was emblazoned on it, with black marker, no less.

But children are forgiving, and Lance went back to choose another pumpkin without any fuss. This time, he wisened up, choosing a much smaller pumpkin so he could take it with him wherever he went. And he DID, keeping a close eye on it the whole time.

Alas, both pumpkins didn't end up jack-o'-lanterns as Mommy considers these to be fire hazards. We still have both pumpkins, the smaller one in Lance's desk and the bigger one in our garage, fully functional as a doorstop.

The days on the calendar went swiftly by like the falling leaves of autumn until finally...IT WAS HALLOWEEN!

Shortly before sunset, I layered my boys' clothing, starting with t-shirts under their warm pajamas.




Then I bundled them up in their costumes. I had long given up on finding Troy a Power Rangers costume in his size. Instead, I recycled Lance's old Bob the Builder costume, and dressed him up as a SCARECROW!




Looking at this picture, I can almost hear my boys utter those timeless words...

"Trick or treat!"


(See those pajamas peeking out from behind?)


Lance and Troy were so excited, going from house to house, carrying their glow sticks and watching their buckets fill up with candy. Lance, being almost 5, is already a veteran at this. Through the years he's been a bumblebee, Po the Teletubby, Bob the Builder and a firefighter. This year, he was in full Spiderman gear, from head (mask) to toe (glow-in-the-dark Spidey shoes), but he got rid of the mask when he got outside because he couldn't see much.

Troy, on the other hand, is still new to the experience. It isn't his first time though. Two years ago, he donned Lance's baby bumblebee costume and went trick-or-treating, following his kuya in his stroller, and last year he was Thomas the Tank Engine at our church's Fall Festival.

Since the phrase "trick or treat" was generally frowned upon in church, Troy never really got to say it until THIS year, but it didn't take him long to warm up to the concept. Pretty soon, he was joining his big brother, Lance, ringing doorbells, waiting patiently untiil someone appeared, saying "trick or treat!" in chorus with his kuya, and eagerly extending his bucket in anticipation.

Towards the end of the session, however, Troy, in true three-year-old fashion, cut through the bullsh*t. Instead of saying "trick or treat", he simply said "CANDY!" and people generally complied.

We knew he was getting tired when he started asking "now can I have my candy?" after every house we visited. When Lance started complaining he was cold, we knew it was time to stop. So we piled into Vanna, our minivan, and proceeded to McDonald's to fill their tummies in anticipation of the coming candy onslaught.


(Halloween dinner at McDonald's.)


Alas, the candy onslaught never came. The buildup to it was so exhausting, both of my boys fell fast asleep before we even got home.

And so Daddy carried them up to their beds, (with visions of sugar bombs dancing in their heads), their teeth unbrushed, but just for tonight.

With Mommy about to take the serious task of closely examining EACH piece of candy to weed out the questionable ones, we figured it was time to heed that old adage...

Let sleeping children lie.