So, as I remember back to around April 2oth.... It was Katie's last day of school before the Easter holiday. It was also her last day as a teacher for the foreseeable future because that is the day she had chosen to hang up her ruler and chalkboard eraser to become a fulltime mom. Caroline's original due date was May 5, so Katie planned on getting the last two weeks to finish out the nursery, rest and get ready for the baby to come. The morning of her last day at school, I drove over to her campus to load all of her boxes into the Tahoe to bring home. It was ridiculously humid that morning (as it is 11 months out of the year in Houston) and I worked up a real sweat, but I was happy to do it so that Katie could enjoy her last day with all her pals at work.
The next morning (Thursday), I got up to go to work and Katie got to sleep in until whenever she wanted. She made this abundantly clear the night before saying "have fun getting up early to go to work tomorrow". However, when I awoke, Katie was already up flopping around in bed and complaining about how sore she was and how sick she felt. I figured she had worked too hard packing the boxes and was going to need a day or two to rest back up. I went off to work and told her that I hoped she felt better and I'd call her later on in the morning.
Around 10 am she calls me at work and says she still doesn't feel very good. Only she doesn't feel good for just a few minutes... but only like every 5 or 10 minutes... and then it clicks in my brain what she is saying. I swear to you the first thought through my mind when I realized she was having contractions was that I hadn't bought her "push present" yet and I was going to be one of those jerky husbands that all the girls at my office complain about. I didn't want to be that guy.
For those of you who aren't aware, a "push present" is a new tradition (most likely invented by jewelry stores) where a husband buys something nice for his wife in return for her going through the delivery process and screaming obscenities at him for 12 hours.
My original idea (and I have witnesses) was to buy Katie a bracelet with the birthstone of our child. The only problem was that with a due date of May 5, the birthstone was most likely an emerald for May... but could be a diamond for April. So I hadn't bought anything yet and I was actually holding out until May to go ahead and buy the bracelet. But now I was going to be that guy.
So back to the phone call... Katie tells me that she has a call into her doctor, but they hadn't called her back yet. She says that I don't have to rush home, but that I should plan on coming home after lunch in case the pain keeps coming closer together. I tell her that I have an errand to run at lunch time and will come home right after that. I grab my buddy from work (not just for moral support but because he has insanely detailed knowledge of the Houston Galleria shopping mall) and we race down to Westheimer. We rush into Tiffany's and I ask to see the bracelets. I already knew the one I wanted from the internet so I point to it say I want to buy it. Sales guy asks if it's for something special. I tell him it's for my wife's push present for our first child. He asks when she's due. I say she's having contractions at the house right now. He gift wraps the bracelet faster than I've ever seen in my life.
So my buddy and I get back to my truck in the garage and Katie calls me again. She had heard from the doctor and they want her to go ahead and come into the hospital. I think Katie and I both expected to be sitting around the house with a stop watch and tea kettles of boiling water for a few hours before making the drive in to the hospital, but now we were already supposed to be on the way. Katie sounds a little panicky about when am I going to get home, but I tell her my errand is done and I'm on the way. I drop my buddy off back at the office. He gives me a good pep talk and I'm on my way home to get Katie.
As soon as I get home I see the mountain of school boxes in the Tahoe that I had put in there from the day before. Dang, our car seat and hospital bags are not going to fit in there so I go to work stacking the boxes in the garage. (If anybody is wondering what's in the boxes, my wife has a very sick and twisted obsession for office supplies and desk organizers from Office Depot that you will have to ask her about). So the boxes are out of the car and I get inside and Katie is looking a little under the weather. I am once again covered in sweat from the Houston gulf coast sauna. I know I'm about to spend the next 48-72 hours sleeping in a chair with the same underwear on so I sheepishly ask for a quick shower. Katie (though looking less then perfect) has actually got her spirits back and says that should be fine. So I rinse off, put the last few odds and ends in my hospital bag and start to load the car. First is my bag, then Katie's bag, then the baby's bag, then the car seat, the hospital wreath, the pillows, the blankets, the snacks and Katie's barf bucket (she's really not looking too hot). With all this stuff I was really glad we got those boxes out of there.
Everybody's loaded in the car, house is locked up, Katie is calmed down, we back out of the drive way and the fuel light goes off in the Tahoe.... Katie is famous for driving around town for weeks at less than 1/4 tank. Thankfully this is not one of those times. Without panicking we make it to Valero and put a splash in the car to get us to the hospital. Of course it is a Tahoe so a splash is still $20. Katie and I actually remember the exact price because it was $20.02 which is our graduation year at Texas A&M... whoop! This was also on April 21st which is a special tradition at A&M as well.
We finally get to the hospital and pull into the dropoff zone. Katie's mom works at the hospital as a Nursing Education instructor and is at the front door to meet us. This is when the real fun got started, but I'll save that for another post... I'll close out with a letter to Caroline.
Dear Caroline,
While your mother was pregnant I was very nervous about what kind of dad I would be for you. Now that you are born and I've held you, and I've listened to you breathe, and I've stared into your eyes gazing back at me, and I've felt your tiny little hands and toes, and I've soothed your crying, and I've bathed your soft skin... I know that I love you more than anything and that I won't be able to help but try to be the very best dad for you.
So now what I wonder about is what you will be like as a daughter. Will you like to read books or will you like to rough house outside? Will you like to learn about history and science or watch trashy television with your mother? Will you want to play soccer and softball or will you want to sing in the choir and play in the band? Will you sing to the radio with me or will you roll your eyes and laugh and groan at your old dad? All these questions and so many more I look forward to learning about you everyday for the rest of your life.
Love,
Dad
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