My sister Lisa Cheryl Orton was born Saturday, March 25, 1961 at Worcester General Hospital – ironically the same hospital our Grandfather Lyman Orton was associated with before he died 28 years earlier. I remember my father and mother both being very excited about her birth. Her siblings were all excited as well. She was very cute and, like all Orton babies, was as bald as a ping pong ball. It was great learning experience for me. At seven-years-old, I didn’t know anything about babies and all of their strange things, like diapers, clothes, smells, sounds, and food. I had never seen a bassinet or a cradle, had never experienced baby powder, shampoo, or bottles. Mom, always looking for ways to expose us to new things, made sure she answered every question, including the inevitable inquiry about how girls are different than boys anatomically. I watched Mom change Lisa’s diapers, burp her, and feed her every day. She was very trusting to allow me to hold baby Lisa from time to time, particularly with my well-deserved reputation as a milk spilling, stair tumbling geek. I suppose I secretly liked the fact there was another “pig to poke,” but also was eager to be the big brother for once in my life. But girls were a mystery to me, and would continue to be for a long time to come. And I would later find that Lisa’s attention and approval became a competition between her brothers. Lisa coming into the world was a blessing for all of us. Unbeknownst to us, her birth was the catalyst for a whole host of dramatic changes that altered everything about our lives.

NEXT UP – Big changes