The one with the parents – Part Deux

Phyllis and David are back! We learn about Phyllis’s difficult homecoming after her first baby. At the time, breastfeeding was discouraged. David and her Mother were fighting, and she was dealing with postpartum depression. We compare and contrast our birth stories.

Healthcare was different in 1964. Phyllis went to the hospital complaining of pain. The doctor said she was being a complainer and sent her home to take Aspirin until the pain went away. Even though the doctors found a mass during her pelvic exam. After the Aspirin didn’t work, they went back and found a cyst the size of a grapefruit.  Then they had to do emergency surgery.

The doctors brought the cyst to her after the surgery, and it had hair and teeth and bones. Either she had a twin, or she herself had a twin!

They loved being parents in their 20s. It was like the Cleavers. The husbands went out to work in the morning, and the women put the babies in the strollers and walked around complaining about their husbands, and it was a wonderful season.

David was working for his dad and helping him run his business. Phyllis had an aversion to changing diapers and would leave the soiled diapers in a bucket for David to clean after work every day.

Davis shares a story about getting a bad case of jiggers (ticks) that seemed to focus on his scrotum. Phyllis used Absorbine Jr (think Ben-Gay) to try to help. He had passed out from the pain, and when the BenGay kicked in, he woke up and jumped up and shouted, “What the h*#@ are you doing?”

When asked how they navigated the tough times in their marriage, David simply answered, “I grew up.”

David’s professional relationship with his brother was challenging. They eventually parted ways in the family business.

They share the story of Jenny being adopted.