As as is tradition, news reporters across America spent the nascent hours of the new year as we always do, on baby watch, awaiting to report on the birth of the first baby of the new year. Most will just grab a press release from a hospital and run with it. Some go the extra mile for local coverage.
A year ago during New Year’s Eve 2019-20, I was at a bar in Lower Lake with camera in hand and my notebook in my back pant’s pocket at the ready. As is customary, I had been in constant communication with the big hospitals in Lake County. I had called Adventist Health in Clearlake and Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s maternity ward so many times that day that I thought the nurses and doctors were genuinely sick of me calling.
So while most people were out partying or celebrating with loved ones, I stopped by our newsroom on Main Street after dinner and continued my baby watch. Since obviously there was no way for me to know where the baby would be born or when, my plan was to drive to south county should the birth occur in the Clearlake facility. I decided to wait in Lower Lake which is on the way to Clearlake.
Very few establishments were still open past midnight, but unlike COVID year 2020, the bars would be available. I ordered a Diet Coke (no drinking and driving for this guy ever) and waited. Midnight came and went, revelers walked in and drank, hugged, and still no birth. I decided to call it quits sometime past 1:30 a.m., drove home and crashed.
New Year’s baby 2019-20 was born on Jan. 2, 2020 at 6:09 a.m. at the Family Birth Center at Sutter Lakeside Hospital. Freelance writer Lucy Byard chronicled the event for the Record-Bee.
This year was a little different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I wasn’t hanging out at any bars but Lucy and I were still busy contacting the hospitals and arranging for our annual coverage.
Celebrating the New Year’s baby this year, given how much loss and pain we all experienced, seemed a bit more important. The COVID-19 virus has taken so much away from us, I personally lost my aunt Myra to the disease and saw or heard of so many other friends get sick. California’s death tally as of this writing is over 26,000. Sharing the proud parents’ joy with the rest of our county and indeed the world, seems like a great gift to us all.
As an example of the new reality we all share, on the same day we were reporting on the New Year’s birth I also zoomed in to a virtual memorial ceremony for a friend I knew from my sister’s church group who passed away from cancer the day after Christmas. It was surreal, just this summer I had zoomed and talked to her as the group prayed for her recovery. My sister’s text on the day of her death partly read: “She passed away at 2:30 a.m. this morning. She always asked about you and prayed for you. Now, she’s with Jesus.”
I always tell people to cherish their time with people in their lives, sounds trite I know, but I tell people to treasure every minute with loved ones and family.
By the way the New Year’s baby in 2021 is a baby girl, you can read about her journey in today’s edition and online at Record-Bee.com. We sincerely hope 2021 will be much better than its predecessor.
A 16-year veteran of the journalism industry, Ariel Carmona is the managing editor of the Lake County Record-Bee. You can contact him at arielcarmona@record-bee.com.
