The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

..........y l sWensdy A ri ,1 9 It's your guess bathroorn door. And wben be tels me be loves me and wil i1 marry bim whcn be grows up. And when be wants a bear bug at bedtime and wben he asks wben daddy is on day shift again. And, 1 will cal thc sitter five trnes Uic first time 1Iclave bim witb someone cisc, certain that tbcy don't know rny son --- afraid to leave bim yet tired of conversations filled only witb coos. We would one day bc obliged to tell him that people arc sometimes cruel, and that Santa Claus is a mytb, and tbat hamsters and grandfathers die, and tbat we don't bit, and that money doesn't grow on trocs and. lots of odier things. But now, Kyle is nine. He is healthy and confident and laughing, and bas begun to face life's curve balls and borne runs. He bas a younger brother who adds another dimension of joys and challenges to thc life of our famnily. And tbe woman with the emerging wrinkles and ever grcycr bair tbat 1 sec in thc mirror tels me stili: "Tbey should botle this experience." Mrs. Mabel Uoole. visitcd thc office reccntly with the tbre above items and queried us as to what thcy werc. Out of th uic=icwc carne close on one but the other two werc beyond us and as a result a mystery. by Helen MacDonald The boy running in Uic field with his eider cousin and bis younger brother is my son. My first born. He moves fast, powcrfully, confidcntly and is laughing when Uiey ail tumble te thc ground. Its spring --- thc Urne of rebirth. If's also nine years ago this wcek that be was born. WiUi is anrival, I entcred into thc ranks with rny global sisters, and my own mother, and ber mother, of the institution of motherbood. (Wbat Erma Bornbeck refers te as Uic world's second oldest profession.) The planet suddenly scemed a vcry srnall place, at once botb beautiful and ugly. It would bc bis place of joy, and bis place of sorrow. On it be would face choices and challenges, failures and successes. The night he was born, tired yet unable te slcep, I stood at Uic window of my hospital room looking over the city wbicb s tretcbed below-- scemingly into vast, unknown, infinite darkness. The tbunder and lightning brougbt witb tbern snow. Huge, fiuffy flakes. I feit like thc plastic statue inside thc crystal bail that someone had shaken and set to silcntly watcb upon their coffec table, wonderîng: "What will she do ternorrow? the next day? and evcry day for the next twenty years --longer?» The most profound experience of rny life was filled with dualities. Joy/sadness. Hope/fear. Confidence/doubts. A lot rested upon my abiity te 'mother', a task wbich requires sorne skili, and mucb patience, and from observations of my own mother, much sacrifice. Was I ready? Would I bc a 'good' rnother/parent? For nine months prier te this day, 1 devoured as rnany books as Mabel is a member of thc Newcastle, and District Historical Society and spcaks of many intercsting events sponsorcd by Uie organization. ý Wbat Uthee =are: mturntpage my eyes could absorb about prcgnancy, about birthing, about breast feeding, about the Uings 1 sbould do, and the tbings I sbouldnt do. I faitbfully followed by my obstetrician's instructions, and 1 relinquisbed my rigbts te certain choices because 1 was no longer one, but a temporary temple for the child inside me. We werc congratulated on Uic birth of our bealthy son. We told everyone who would listen about the profound experience of becoming parents. In Uic cuphoria of Uic day, it was decided that Uic experience should bc bottlcd. The first year of rny son's life was one spent immersed in my rclationsbip with bim and in reflection of Uic world which he bad cntered. The enormity of this concept was great. I ad birthcd birn. I baU chosen to introduce birn to a, world wbich was, suffering at Uic bands of burnans. I would be bis conduit t o experience and to the early learning of wbo he is. 1 would also be there when he takes bis first step, wben bc smashes bis finger in the Tear into your biggest Iawn and garden chores with the John Deere GT262. It features a gutsy 6-speed heavy-duty transaxie, 48-inçh mowing deck and dependable internai wet-disk brakes for increased reliability. And the John Deere's Quik-Tatch" system for fast implement changes. The GT262 is one tough tractor that's easy to buy. See it today. ( vÀt $1779.00 down payment) îi N T IG R N Lu LIKE A DEERE@ FARM&GADNLD j JOHNP DEERE SALES I~~Taunton Road, West of Orono &-d SER'VICE l Phone 983-9119 ---- ------------------------ - -- ------------------------------- Fashion Frames Valued up to $ 99.00 ~4' H Please Present Couponstg v~ j Clear or Tnted Sf al ~rCnat ~ I Buy I OmplDete pair of RX ey*w ar---- pir ....ns/H....ar o...t I I at ur alrady 10wreWila price Soit aJIf war cntatsatthOrduar I Sany secon pair. eyelasses AT rice & reet.afscn arc u I ndpamutb am R, qul ake r TILLEY Pà~tect F1ttng GuaranteedlFree i I. I issQ~vIklaRe.~OPTICIANS C~/F0Se I o SINGLE PAIR EYEGLASSES *SPECIALTY LENSES: Sun Sensitivei 11, 200/o Includes AIL Designer framnes 102 Byron St S. 16 Baldwin St. 'Transitions' Thin ner / Lighter "Nikon i ", OFF PLUS Specialty Lenses OnIy - - whitly----- Newcastle---- and »Seiko" No-Line *Multifocals' ---------------------- ------- --- ---- ------- --------------- more ,Relqectý'ons