a reforming state of mind

Anyone who knows me well is aware that I’m a sucker for children and youth. I’m still a pretty big goofy kid myself at the age of 32.  I’ve always loved being around kids, playing games, leading recreation, befriending and mentoring to those many years younger, teaching children and youth in Church. And I especially enjoy holding babies and making faces at them.

But finally having one of my own feels very different.  Unlike the other children I’ve held and will hold in the future, none are of my flesh and blood.  None feel like an extension of myself and my wife Elizabeth whom I so deeply love.  I feel with Katie a very deep sense of obligation, protection, nurture, and love.  Holding her this morning at 1:30 am and later this morning as we rocked back and forth in the hospital room chair filled me with a sense of wonder and awe about God’s miraculous creations.

Those tiny toes and fingers with their own unique prints are markers that she belongs to God and that her parents who were given the blessed opportunity to conceive such an amazing being is a sign that we too belong always and forever to God. 

And I will, with every bone in my body for the rest of my life, do all I can to love and nurture her as a unique and special child of God.  Like the Paul Simon tune goes, Im gonna watch you shine; Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign; So youll always know; As long as one and one is two,;There could never be a father; Who loved his daughter more than I love you.

“Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon

If you leap awake
In the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second
You cant remember where you are
Just open your window
And follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain
Where we counted every falling star

I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I cant guarantee
Theres nothing scary hiding under your bed
I’m gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head

Im gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So youll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition
Its just like going fishing
You cast your line
And hope you get a bite
But you dont need to waste your time
Worrying about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night

Im gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So youll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Im gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So youll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

We found out today, via our good friend Susan Artz and some additional research on the web, that Katie shares a special birthday with Andy Griffith, the star of one of my two favorite sitcoms of all time—The Andy Griffith Show (the other of course is M*A*S*H).   That officially makes Katie a Mayberry girl and gives me another great reason to learn her about the wonderful folks in that fictional slice of life North Carolina town.  I can’t wait to spend afternoons watching TAGS with her.  As Andy would say, “That’s fiiiiiiiineeeeee, that’s fine!”

Katie also shares a birthday with one of the best actors of our time, the amazingly talented Morgan Freeman, a native of Mississippi and business owner in Lousiana (Elizabeth’s home state). And let’s not forget he’s God in the popular and funny “Bruce Almighty” and “Evan Almighty.”

That’s not all. She’s also got the same birthday as the late Marilyn Monroe, Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones, Alanis Morrisette and the late William Sloane Coffin, theologian and political activist who was fondly characterized as Rev. Sloan in the comic strip Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau.

I think Katie’s in pretty darn good company don’t ya think. Maybe this is a sign of the great possibilities that lie ahead for our little one, well except for Marilyn’s affair with JFK, her marriages to DiMaggio and Athur Miller, the drug overdose and that awful Elton John song.

Delivered by c-section at 1:29 am and weighing in at 10.5 pounds and 22 inches long, KATIE!!! (Note that when I initally posted, I was so out of it, I wrote 122 inches hence the funny comments left by Del and Rob and others )

Mom, daddy and baby are exhausted, but doing great! 24-hours after Elizabeth’s water broke, we are finally in a nice room in Shady Grove Hospital’s new materinity wing.  Katie had a good breakfast and is sound asleep.  Her parents are not far behind…for 10 minutes at least.

At 6:30 am I woke up to the sound of “Andyyy, I need you.” I bolted up from the couch and ran into the bathroom where my wife greeted me with, “I think my water just broke.” Indeed. We kept cool, allowing only smiles and giggles to move us forward as we (mostly me) scrambled to pack my hospital bag (I really thought I had more time, ha)

We got to the hospital about 7:30 am (which wasn’t hard since it’s 2 blocks away) and we’ve been here ever since (It’s 4:46 pm as I write this post).  Elizabeth is doing well. Her cervix is dilated at 6 centimeters which is remarkable considering that as of our doc appointment on Friday, there were no signs the baby was coming anytime soon. (Although the physician’s assistant did say on our way out, “We’ll see you next Tuesday for the sonogram unless something happens over the weekend, which I hope it does”)

Elizabeth has been really strong throughout the labor. The pain was a lot worse than she imagined but the epidural that she received an hour ago seems to be doing the trick.  And Elizabeth’s managed to get a couple of cat naps in.  I got 10 minutes myself outside of helping Elizabeth into a bath, change her bed pads, get ice chips and popscicles and keep in touch with outside world of family and friends. The text messages of love and prayers are more than anyone could ask for. Keep em coming.

 I’ve even had a chance to read a few chapters in a book about supeheroes and faith, and watch 15 minutes of my favorite movie “Raising Arizona” (most appropriate for the day).  And the iPOD is putting out some mellow labor tunes..Alexi Murdoch, Joe Purdy, Enya, Iron & Wine, and U2’s Window in the Skies are the perfect soundtrack for this new and exciting chapter in life.

Well…I better go and get back to Elizabeth.  Family is on the way from Louisana, Cleveland, Charlotte and Tallahassee. In a few hours one more should be here, straight from the womb and into a bassinette to cap off a beautiful May day in Maryland.

More news, including our gir’s name, and pictures coming soon!

On Saturday, the members of Colesville Presbyterian Church threw Elizabeth and I our first baby shower.  It was a fun celebration.  We were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of gifts. We had no idea that there would be so many or that a baby would need that much stuff.   Our little girl is not going to be hurting for any onesies and outfits, that’s for sure. She’s going to be one stylin baby. 

I have to admit that I’ve never been into baby clothes, much less the girlie kind.  But ever since we found out Elizabeth was pregnant, my eyes have suddenly been opened to all of these cute outfits.  Little pink sweaters and yellow outfits with ducks and little booties with colorful stripes.   I can’t wait to see my daughter in them and hold her in her onesie that says, “Don’t Laugh, My Daddy Dressed Me” or the “I Love Daddy” in case she forgets or other people wonder if she loves me after I’ve dressed her in non-matching outfits.

In the picture above is one of several burp clothes/diapers that the 3-8th graders decorated with words like “Baby” (in case I forget what it’s for and use it to pick a booger instead) and their names, all in acrylic paint. We also received some Target, Home Depot and maternity store cards to use for future baby-child needs or to buy some supplies for painting the nursery or kid’s bedroom.

Some of my personal favorites are the musical playing Eyore (his feet are painted in different colors and when you press them, they make a nice musical sound); the Learn & Drive steering wheel and dashboard (you can honk the horn and press a button that says “Get out of the way!” and learn your ABC’s at the same time); and Noah’s Ark (equipped with one animal of every kind that make their God-given sounds when you press on them, although Noah makes the sound of a foghorn. Go figure). Elizabeth’s favorite: Beaudreax’s Butt Paste for baby’s dry itchy skin, a home-grown Lousiana product

All gifts aside, the best part was actually seeing the joy and care that went into each gift and feeling all of the love and support from everyone.  It’s been a blessing to have so many folks a part of this journey with us.

Only six more weeks until the little one is here.  As I write, my wife is reading to the baby from Real Simple.  Studies have shown that the more you read to a child in the womb, the more advanced their vocabulary is, particularly at a young age.  Probaby means I should get back to finishing Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.  Gotta bring her up to date on how it’s bad for the environment to cut down trees, especially the Trufula ones.