Birth

So my sister had a baby on Friday. It was pretty much the coolest thing I've seen since I got back from my mission. And when I say "seen" I don't mean I "saw" it. Lauren was very strict on her request that no one be present for the delivery. I wouldn't have wanted to be there anyway, so it didn't help when the ornery nurse yelled at my brother and me, "Don't you think about going in there." It was one of those I-really-wanted-to-stick-my-tongue-out-at-her moments but I resisted. But I'm still holding a grudge.

The whole emotional experience was compounded by an awkward reconciliation between two future grandmas who felt betrayed by the other. Long story and it turns out it was all a terrible misunderstanding and no one was really to blame, but cleaning up the wreckage was tangibly awkward. I would've loved to leave that hallway and avoid it altogether but they were positioned right by the delivery room, and I had an ear to the door. I was intently waiting for any sign of life when I heard a loud metallic clanging noise. Probably dropped the forceps, I think to myself, suppressing a second thought, I hope Abigail isn't made of tungsten. Although that would've been a completely different sound. More of a thud than a clang. Should've gone with brass.

Suddenly the silence was pierced by a pterodactyl-like shriek -- Abigail taking her first breaths and not enjoying those post-shoved-through-a-cervix pains. And then the enormity of the situation overwhelmed my fragile psyche and my widened eyes welled up with tears. A new soul, my twin sister's child, my first niece, Abigail, was the newest member of the human race (I'm sure someone in Korea was born seconds later, but that's not relevant for this blog). There was definitely an outpouring for me at that moment of enlightenment and understanding. Ever since I got back from Ukraine I've been a little concerned by the trivial things I occupy myself with. A lot of things that I thought were important before my mission don't really seem to matter anymore. But here I was having an experience that mattered quite a lot.