Pure Awe

My childhood best friend just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy last Saturday... it was obviously 40+ weeks in the works, but man did it come quick!

After the scheduled induction at 7pm on Friday evening, I called to check in at 8am: Barely any progress. After an almost sleepless night, I took my time getting out of bed and into the shower to prepare for what seemed like was going to be a long day. The cereal box was in my hand when my cell phone rang. Her barely-there, not-sounding-like-herself voice told me we "better come" because she was "already at 9". My heart started to race. I was a solid 20-25 minutes away as it was, but I had to go in the opposite direction to pick up her Mother. I grabbed my purse and dashed out the door. My hair was wet, thank God I had already put my shoes on... but I couldn't even spare a moment to brush my teeth.

My hands were shaking as I scrambled to lock the front door of their house at which they so kindly let me stay. I sped down the road at least 20 miles over the speed limit towards her Aunt's house. I'm lucky I didn't get pulled over because if I had been delayed even 5 minutes I would have missed it.

With soon-to-be Grandmother in tow we were finally headed toward the hospital. Thanks to a few shortcuts we were well on our way. The quicker-than-normal 15 minute drive felt like an eternity. My mind kept racing, wondering what she was going through and how I should be there... we had been talking about this for months now and it was actually happening! I had come all the way to Houston just for this and damn it, I was going to be there!

The red lights were driving me insane. My fingers were twitching, my toes were tapping... my phone kept getting texts. I was at the last red light, just one block from the hospital, when I received the message "She's pushing!" That's when I ran it. Nothing was going to keep me from experiencing this baby's birth, especially not some silly traffic signal.

I didn't even close the car door at the valet stand... the gentleman chased me into the elevator to give us our claim ticket. Two floors up and I sprinted down the hallway. I still wasn't there yet! One person had to come out before I could go in. Those 30 seconds almost broke me. The doors flew open and I took off again. I was out of breath when I burst inside to find I was right on time. Three last little pushes and Baby C was born. It was absolutely incredible, to say the least.

It's just surreal that E, a girl I've known since the days of middle school sleepovers, is now a real, live Mother of her own child. I always knew this day would come, but where has the time gone??? It's perfectly ironic that she, the only one of our close circle of girlfriends that is an only child, had a baby first.

Baby C is just amazing. There are no words to describe the admiration and astonishment I feel toward his parents and him. E is so brave to even enter this chapter in her life, but to see her in positive spirits during such a vulnerable (both mental and physical) challenge is awe-inspiring. And the love she and A have for eachother warms my heart... Witnessing the whole process really helped me be able to look forward to those moments in my eventual future.

Thanks to everyone at Texas Women's Hospital, especially Dr. Lesley Davis, for taking such good care of my precious people. It was truly a weekend I'll never forget.