Today, the sky is heavy and grey. Leaves float around in the air as the wind picks up. Lightening is a sign of what is to come. We’re on the verge of either a drizzle or a storm. When will it start, how long will it last?

Some of you know that my sis-in-law is about to give birth to her second born. In many ways it feels like the calm before this rainstorm. Leen’s due date is tomorrow and all the final items on her to-do list have been crossed off: including a final pedicure, which we got to do together! It’s not a question of “if” but when labor will start.  Well, not exactly: Tall Mountain, who will be on babysitting duty, of course put his dibs in for a weekend delivery again. How long will it last? What will it be like? Will it be a niece or a nephew? I simply can’t wait to hold my newest precious family member and God willing, arrive at the birth center in time for his or her arrival!!

For as much as being at my niece’s birth was magical in every way, having gone through the work of labor and delivery myself this time makes this event all the more momentous and gripping. No, labor wasn’t traumatic for either of us the first time round. In many ways, for me, birth felt like a sort of other-worldly experience, resembling a super marathon and an iron woman combined with a brand new and innocent being to care for at the end. Birth is a totally surreal and ultimately a supernatural, life-changing event in that way. It’s a state of being that the men in our lives will never ever be able to experience. I admire sis for choosing a natural birth for number two, especially after the grueling pain of going through it a first time. Today, I am more aware of the risks of complications of birth and what natural birth feels like. However, I also know more than ever that sis can push through the wall and that she is in the best hands in the world at this incredible birth center.

I can’t wait! I can’t wait.