Expectations

Sunday night we were visiting friends and Clara started kicking. I quickly put my hand on Kristin's stomach and felt Clara going to town. Our friend wanted to feel so I moved my hand and, the moment our friend'’s hand touched Kristin's stomach, Clara stopped. The whole once-someone-else-wants-to-feel-she-stops thing has happened many times. When it does Kristin glares at her stomach and we joke that we know Clara is going to be a pill.

Kristin's grandfather affectionately referred to his grandchildren as llip, tarb, and lacsar. I sometimes wonder what sort of names Clara will have. Will she be calm and composed like her mother? Will she have endless amounts of energy and a never-ending need to be around people like her father? Will she be shy? Will she be outgoing? Who and what will she be?

This weekend we attended a two day child-birth class. The class included a tour of hospital where Clara is expected to be born. We saw the labor and delivery rooms, the postpartum rooms, and the nursery. Lying in a bassinete was a baby a few hours old. One of the nurses said she looked to be about six pounds. Kristin looked at me and said, "Ours won'’t be that small. What have we gotten ourselves into?" Seeing where Clara will enter the world made it that much more real that in about six weeks we will be parents. It's exciting and daunting all at once.

I can only hope that she takes the best of Kristin and the best of me. And that she will have people around her to give more if that isn'’t enough.

Don't keep us waiting too long, my daughter.