Waiting for Baby James
My daughter’s family is growing.
She has an active, powerhouse of a 20 month old toddler whose favorite words are “no” and “da-da.” She lives with her fiancé’ and 20 month old daughter in a two bedroom condo. The living room looks like a bomb of toys and stuff animals exploded on the blue carpet. The Little One is learning to pick up after herself, but it is slow going.
This is my daily job description: picking up, washing, making, cleaning up, playing, walking and tending. The picking up and washing are pretty much the same: clothes and dishes. The making consists of three meals plus snacks, the playing and walking are done with The Little One and the tending is to my daughter who feels like she has a bowling ball plus the bowling alley sitting on her bladder at all times.
We are awaiting the birth of baby James. He was first due on my grandmother’s birthday, February 23. Then, the date was moved to the 18th and as of two weeks ago was changed to “any time now.” At first we prayed I would make it to town before he was born. Within twenty hours of being in town, we rushed to the hospital with false signs of labor. For a week now … nothing. No labor pains, no nesting, no water breaking. We are in “wait mode.”
Waiting is such an interesting activity. It is an impending energy. We wait in line for coffee. We wait in the ATM line to withdrawal money. We wait in the movie line, the restaurant line, the bathroom line; all sorts of lines. We wait for our numbers to be called for lottery tickets, customer service at counters, and to pick up dry cleaning. We wait for loved ones to fly or drive in from out of town. Waiting is an active part of life and is pretty much unconscious …. until we REALLY want something. Then, as Einstein would say, a few minutes feels like an eternity.
What do we do, then, waiting for the baby to come? We continue on with life as we know it. The Fiancé goes to work, daughter and grandmother tend to the toddler, home, and preparing for James’ arrival.
Today may daughter and I had conversations about the young men she knows who came back from war with PTSD. We talked about healing, and loving, and the pain that comes from going against the rhythm of Life. We hired a babysitter and went to the movies. We walked for daily exercise. We talked about finances, dreams, and what we wanted to prepare for dinner.
And, in the midst of all of this, there is a niggle within that says change is coming. It is a desired change; but one that requires its own perfect timing. We trust. We listen. We wait.
