April Fool's!!!

Life played an April Fool's joke on me this week. As I recently mentioned, I had to replace the garbage disposal at the house. Well, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Due to the impending birth of our son, Julie thought our lives might be a little less hectic if we used paper plates and cups so we wouldn't have to mess with dirty dishes. Because of this, we accumulated dirty dishes very slowly so that the dishwasher did not run until a few days after replacing the disposal. I came home that night and found towels on the floor all around the dishwasher. I asked Julie about the towels and she said the dishwasher had leaked. I opened it up and the bottom was filled with water. I pulled the dishwasher out from the counter and found the hose leading from the dishwasher. I disconnected it and water immediately began flowing from the machine. I knew the problem was not in the dishwasher itself.

I followed the hose and discovered that it leads into the garbage disposal. Julie called Roto Rooter and had the guy that installed the disposal come check it out. He realized there was a seal that he forgot to remove which prevented the water from flowing into the disposal and out of the house. After getting the dishwasher back into the counter, it worked perfectly.

A few days later, the next problem popped up. This past Monday, I was in the shower and noticed some orange foam in the floor of the shower. I figured it was from one of Julie's products though I thought it was odd that it was at the end of the shower opposite the shower head. When I bent down to inspect the foam, I notice a tile tat was not flush with the wall. I was surprised that I had not noticed that in six months of living in the house. I rinsed the foam down the drain and went on about my day.

The next day (April Fool's Day), I was in the shower and noticed even more of the same foam. This was not a good development becuase Julie was still in bed and had not been in the shower yet, so I knew it was not left behind by her. When I inspected the foam, I could tell it was "flowing" from behind the tile which I had noticed was crooked the day before. There was an even greater amount of foam and some of it had dried on the floor of the shower and would not rinse away. I figured the foam was either the glue or the grout. Somehow, the the tile must have come loose and my best guess is that the water from the shower was causing it to expand and run. I smashed the tile back against the wall and rinsed away the foam. I went to work figuring I was going to have to learn how to do a tile repair job and wondering what problem was going to crop up next in my newly acquired, fifteen year old house.

I had hardly been at work about an hour when my phone rang. I saw that it was Julie and I knew immediately why she was calling. I said hello and she asked me what I thought of an April Fool's birthday. I asked if she was serious and she said her water might have broken and that her doctor told her to get to the hospital. When we arrived at triage, Julie was already dilated four centimeters!

They quickly got us back to a labor and delivery room. 10 hours later at 7:21 P.M., my son Caleb came into this world weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He was 19 inches long.

I began the day grumbling and grousing about the sudden rash of issues with the house. I ended the day overcome with emotion and joy. I was emotional about Julie and the wonderful job she did delivering our son and I was so overwhelmed with love and appreciation for the new little creature that is going to be living with me. I still have to fix that tile, but thanks to the curveballs of life, I'm not quite so worried about it anymore.

I have previously mentioned a special project that I was working on. The time has come to reveal that project. I have created a special blog that I am calling Year of Wonder which will chronicle my son's first year. You can find the blog at: http://www.myyearofwonder.blogspot.com/. Please check it out. I will post pictures of Caleb here from time to time, but Year of Wonder will be the most consistent place to catch pictures of him.

I want to thank everyone who has supported Julie and I throught this process and have been so generous with their time, money and counsel. We love you all. In the meantime, check out some pictures of Caleb after you have had the chance to go over to Year of Wonder:

Biding Time

We had a baby shower this past weekend and I am just overwhelmed by the generosity people at church and families at school showed toward us. We now have many clothes, blankets, toys and miscellaneous other stuff for this baby. It's a good thing he won't have to go around naked. He also has a car seat now, so I guess we'll actually get to bring him home from the hospital. And once we buy a mattress, the kid will have a place to sleep.

As far as I'm concerned, we're ready to have the baby. Sure, there are plenty of things to be done around the house, but there is really nothing that HAS to be done before he arrives.

Prior to the shower on Saturday, we went to a newborn parenting class which wrapped up the series of classes we've been taking to try and calm our nerves before the bundle of joy arrives. We practiced diapering and swaddling a doll which strikes me as pointless because the doll was silent and was not wiggling. We watched videos. We talked about babies. It was realy informational.

After we got home Saturday night and surveyed all the wonderful gifts, a feeling of calm and serenity came over me. It occurred to me that we are ready. There are no more classes to attend. The baby shower is now behind us. Julie's mom was here for the shower and went home Sunday night. We won't see any of our family again until the baby is here. There is nothing left between us and the arrival of this child. All that is left is for us to hunker down and wait. It could be a few days, it could be a few weeks. Only God knows.

Wait and enjoy these last few days of pregnancy. Of course, I use the term enjoy loosely. I think Julie has enjoyed being pregnant to the extent that anyone can enjoy it, but she probably wouldn't tell you that right now. But after the baby is here, I think it is something she will look back upon and and cherish.

I know I am going to try to soak it up before it's over. We'll probably have another child, but I'm sure it's nothing like the first time you experience it. I will never forget the first time Julie pulled my hand over to her stomach and I could feel my son moving. I will never forget the first time we sat in that Doctor's office and I heard his little heartbeat. I only have a short time before I can actually hold my little boy in my arms and that is going to be a wonderful day. But I want to savor these remaining moments where he is moving around inside of Julie. I am going to savor her joy as she watches him move. The process of bringing a new life into this world is so amazing and so special. This is a time I will never forget.

Countdown

It appears that I have taken a bit of an unintended hiatus from posting. It's been so busy around here. But I just had to take a moment to mark the significance of today's date.

Today is March 13, 2008. As of today, the due date for my child is exactly one month away. Now, to anybody who has asked about the due date, after saying April 13th, I also add that it means my son will be born any day but the 13th. From everything I've ever heard, I don't know of anyone whose child was born on the actual due date (other than planned c-sections and inductions, neither of which we are planning right now). So, I have no expectation that baby boy Bergman's birthday will be April 13th.

Despite my assurance that he will not be born on the 13th, today's date still sticks out in my mind. As of today, I can no longer mark the time remaining in terms of months. It is a matter of weeks or even days until my son is born. This fact both thrills me and frightens me.

I look around the world today and I sometimes wonder what I was thinking to have made the decision to bring a child into the midst of all that is wrong with the world. Yet, I imagine myself sitting with my son in my arms and I have indescribable feelings of joy. I can't even begin to imagine how it is actually going to feel to hold my son, my child, my offspring in my own arms for the very first time. But I am fearful of my ability, or extreme lack thereof, to guide this child through life. How do I teach this little person to love God, to care for his family and to be kind to all the people he meets? How do I teach him to respect his mother and to honor all women? How do I teach him to be ambitious and achieve many wonderful things without becoming arrogant or jaded? How do I teach him to live a happy life with the ability to enjoy all the wonder of creation when so many around him will try to drag him down and tell him that the only way to accomplish anything is to seek his own interests at the expense of others?

There is so much I think about now that I am about to be a father. I am scared. I am excited. I'm a mess.

Fortunately, I don't have to have the answer to these questions today. In fact, I many never have the answer. Right now, the only thing I HAVE to know is how to change a diaper.

Fortunately, I've still got a month to figure that out.