First Father's Day After

 

Adrianna's due date had come and gone a week before she finally decided to begin to make her entrance into this world late Friday night.

We had planned a natural-ish birth at the Children's Hospital in Austin. The room had dim lighting with soft furniture in warm muted hues. A couch, a pullout bed, a changing table, it was like a pretty good hotel room.

However, all that was not to be as a meconium stain followed by an erratic heartbeat necessitated an immediate emergency C-section Saturday morning.

However, I was still allowed to be in the operating room for some reason, begowned and masked and befooted, and saw Adrianna a second after they removed her at 6:45 a.m. that Saturday morning.

She was relatively large at 9 lbs, full of hair, and when they brought her to me a minute or so after cleaning her up her eyes were wide and alert, though I realize at this point they probably could not take in everything properly. Still, I saw joy behind those eyes, or at least my joy reflected in hers.

The next day was Father's Day. My first, and really, a bonus Father's Day, one that squeaked in barely under the wire. I always considered it a freebie, one that I'd bank away "for later," even though I didn't know what I meant by that.

I'm cashing it in today.

And I realize the awkward position those who think about me are in today. I would not know what to say if the situation was reversed. So if this applies to you, please don't worry about it. I did have that extra Father's Day on credit, and Cindy is helping me and things will be okay.