Testimony of One Jamaican - Chapter 2

The trip home

It was about 5:45 a.m later that morning when  Dad and Granma showed up. It was obvious that they had taken “First bus” or Morning Star as it was commonly called to the hospital.

First Bus usually passed through the district at 5:00 a.m., it was called morning star because the morning star was not out when this bus started its route for the day.  The well known sound of the bus horn was heard and not long after, Dad and Grandma appeared in the room searching for Mom’s bed.

Although Grandma was pleasantly surprised to know that Mom had delivered me the night before, Dad was extremely happy! Not only because I was a baby boy, but he had made several bets that the baby Mom was carrying was a boy, and it was now time for him to collect.

After negotiating the birth canal my head was a little disfigured. But it was disfigured enough to cause my dad great concern. So he blurted out,

“Mek di bway head look suh?”

“Lef him.” Mom said.

No sah, dis nuh look right, di nurse dem cyah do nutten bout it?

“Lef him mi seh!!! It wi grow into shape!

Grandma and Dad wanted to know the details of the delivery, and Mom wasted no time in telling them the whole story, (the lengthy version). She talked and talked literally for the whole day, like clockwork I was fed every 4 hours. Giving me the breast so often made mom's breasts sore. Luckily Grandma was there to teach her, i.e. to ensure that I was lactating properly.

Suddenly Granma said “mi wah ketch the bus fi guh back up, suh mi nah guh stay wid oonuh any longer. Mi affi go back, suh mi wi si oonuh lata aright?!

That was literally after she had already spent the whole day, and with that Grandma left. 

It was obvious that when Grandma returned to the district that she spread the news of my birth. News generally traveled fast through the community, but news like this traveled even faster. Soon all of the family members who could get a ride, or who could afford a taxi came by the hospital to visit and offer their congratulations.

Most stayed for a while but eventually everybody left, except Dad. He stayed as long as he could; that is until the time of last bus 9’ o clock.

At about 7:49 p.m. he said “Mi nuh wah lass bus miss mi, suh mi ah guh leave now, yuh hear, see yuh later! Mi ah guh up ah di house fi get it ready fi yuh an likkle Jason (Me). See yuh lata. He gave Mom a little peck on the lips, rubbed the baby’s head, and left.

Mom sighed heavily, “Alright, see yuh lata.” She didn’t want Dad to go, but knew he had to.

Not long after Dad left the Nurses and Doctors came by to check that Mom and I were still doing well and that we were both stable enough to leave. Eventually, we were told that we would be discharged first thing the following morning. Lucky for Mom she overheard one of the nurses saying that she was going to Hampstead that night, so she asked the nurse to get a message to her husband that she was discharged.

The district was small and everybody knew everybody. So although the nurse did not know Dad, it was not difficult to get the news to him. Dad and Newby showed up the next morning to carry us home. 

Sam-fye had allowed Mom and Dad to rent what he called the half of his house. Although it was hardly half of the house, it was just right for the budget. Our bedroom was a backroom which Sam-fye obviously built himself and the kitchen and living room was a patio that he had converted. My parents were just entering their twenties and they were as ignorant and inexperienced as could be, not to mention poor. But equipped with ambition and sheer determination they would endeavor to make a better life for me, and for themselves.

Now that I think about it, one of the main reasons Mom and Dad might have agreed to rent this room from Sam-fye was that it was walking distance from everybody who they know. Principal Bobby was jus a mile and half up the road, Newby was next door and Ms. Mattie (Dad’s mom) was 2 miles down the gulley. In addition, all of Mom’s Aunts and Cousins, and friends were a stone’s throw away.

Although the time had not yet come for Mom to go back to work, arrangements were made with Aunt Madgie (Mom’s aunt) to look after me. Aunt Madgie was no veteran caregiver but she was family and she was not going to charge Mom to look after me. It was agreed that in order for me to get used to her, she could visit the house regularly. Whenever Mom had to visit the school or make a trip to town to shop, Aunt Madgie would show up to take care of me that day.

What is two weeks to spend with your newborn? Insufficient as it was, that was all the time Dad had to spend with me before he had to return to work.  Dad was a Police Officer and was stationed for the most part in Kingston; however, his duties took him all over the island; long periods would elapse before he could be allowed to return home to see me or his wife. I know this must have been a heart-wrenching experience for him, but it was a necessary sacrifice, one that he took on without complaint.

Mom was a teacher at Hampstead All-age; the only All-age school in the district. She was given 12 weeks of maternity leave, but it seemed to pain Mom’s heart more than it did Dad to leave me at home, even though she knew that she was returning in the evening to see me again. I guess that is the love of a mother.

In addition to Aunt Madgie, there was one person that visited consistently long after everybody else had stopped, visiting. This was Ms. Mattie (Dad’s Mom). As a matter of fact, from the very second day after I had arrived home, Ms. Mattie had seemingly adopted me. She washed nappies, fed and burped me even when Aunt Madgie and Mom were there. Mattie was there all day every day.

Sometimes she would even stay late into the night. Because of Miss Mattie’s presence, Aunt Madgie didn’t do much. The truth be told Mattie would not let Aunt Madgie do anything at all. After a while, Aunt Madgie felt redundant and stopped coming to the house altogether, which was hardly noticeable since Mattie was the one doing all the work anyway.

At nights when Mom came home, she would breastfeed me, and this was our bonding time. Nobody else could breastfeed me except Mom, and she was proud of this fact. Ms. Mattie would sometimes watch and even give tips to Mom on how to do this. One night while breastfeeding Ms. Mattie said:

“Yuh know..it nuh right fi mi spen all day up here like dis, mi can tek the baby to mi yard a day time wen yuh nuh deh yah? Mi wi carry im back ah evening time.

Since Ms. Mattie was the one giving most of the care to me anyway Mom decided it was O.K. for Mattie to bring me to her house. And so it started, that every day I was at Mattie’s house.

Although Ms. Mattie lived two miles from the house she would walk the distance two times every day. Early in the morning to come and get me before Mom would go to work and in the evening when Mom returned. This probably continued until I was about 5 months old, and basically not fooling around the breast anymore.

At 4 months old I had started losing interest in the breast and at exactly 5 months I refused it altogether. It was found out later that this might have been due to the fact that Mattie had been secretly giving me cow’s milk to drink. But at the time it was found out there was nothing that Mom could have done about it. (years later – I will explain)

Although it did not show at first, it was to Mattie’s delight that I had stopped taking the breast. She saw this as an opportunity to not bring me back home in the evenings, which she capitalized on. (How can a woman love children that much till this day, I don’t understand)

I spent so much time at Ms. Mattie’s house that instead of calling where Mom lived home, it was Mattie’s house that I referred to as my home.