Ned would have been thirty-nine today. He was born on June 7, 1969.
I was Shaan's age when my mom came home with Ned from the hospital. I remember it being a special and exciting day, like Christmas. Grandma Wilma had been taking care of us. My mom and dad came in with a delicate white blanket bundle that gradually started to respond and play with us.
It's not easy to remember the clear specifics of that time when I was two, but the feelings of joy, wonder and surprise are strong (who was this little king coming onto the scene stealing our show?) that went along with gaining a little brother.
Having a girl and a boy myself, I think it must have been special for my parents to greet that little boy. He was named after my dad's father, my Grandpa Edmond Henry Snyder. He got my dad's middle name Thomas. And I remember no one, no one I knew around me had the name Ned growing up. That's what made him special too. Ned was an old fashioned name from another time. His name, I noticed later, could be found inside my own name Wendy, just extract and unmix those three letters.
