August Townes Smith

August Townes Smith was born on January 22, 2011!!!!!!!!!

Number one on my bucket list was to have children. Number two was to have grandchildren. I gave up on number two a few years ago when as far as I knew, neither of my sons had ever had a serious adult relationship.

About a year and a half ago all of that changed. One day Todd told me that he was "in love". A few weeks later I got to meet Holly Stamey - a cute little girl from Spartanburg - a senior biology major at USCS. She was domestic - liked cooking and sewing. I was so happy to see Todd so happy - and a bit surprised that he found a girl just like the girl I might have picked for him! When I got to know her a little more, I found that she was charming and fun to be around too. Soon after I got to meet her parents - Billy and Jaspar - who I liked a lot. She is their only child and they are very close. Jaspar's extended family lives in Spartanburg. The following November I had Thanksgiving dinner with them and got to meet some of her family - and I was thrilled that Todd had found such a nice second family.

Todd called me last spring with the most exciting news! Holly had "passed" a pregnancy test. They thought she could not get pregnant because of health issues - so it was a big surprise. I was at work when I heard this news - walking across campus. I cried the whole way to my meeting because I was so happy.

There were three nice showers and a lot of preparation --- but August Townes was born in the Charleston Birthing Center on Saturday, August 22, 2011. Todd called me that morning - I was in Pendleton Bilo - and said Holly was in labor and they were at the Birthing Center in Charleston. So I went home, packed, and headed down there. My sisters met over there too - and of course Billy, Jaspar, and Holly's grandmother Eleanor were there too.

It was a long difficult labor - they considered going to the hospital - but finally that evening August Townes arrived to an excited and happy extended family!

They went to a hotel a few hours after the birth - and the next morning Daddy and I went over to see them. He was thrilled to meet his new great grandson. The name Townes came from my father's grandfather, Townes Holleman - and was suggested by Daddy's cousins Martha and Sarah at a baby shower held in Clemson. So Townes Holleman was August Townes Smith's great great grandfather.

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