Stand by for action!
We knew that we wanted to have kids this year, but little did we know how many other people wanted kids this year, too. The announcement of our pregnancy was a great joy, and yet, it was one of many announcements from other friends, other people in our church community – and so, for us, the last eight months has felt like we have been standing in a slowly-advancing queue. You join the line and shuffle forwards every so often, forming friendships and enjoying comeraderie where you can get it with other people ahead or behind you.
In recent weeks days, it feels like the pregnancy queue has suddenly evaporated ahead of us and we are standing at the head of the line.
We now count down to the expected due date in days instead of months. We’ve successfully converted our spare room into a baby’s room, with all the expected paraphernalia (and some of the unexpected paraphernalia). Antenatal classes are completed and have given us a few shreds of courage with which to face the coming labour. At the last SRE lesson for the term, my Year 4 class were full of questions, not about Joshua and Caleb and Canaan, but about whether we are having a boy or a girl and what names we’ll choose. Lorien is no longer working and people are starting to say things like, “What? Haven’t you had the baby yet?” Yes, it does feel like the End Of The Line.
Neil A said,
‘End Of The Line’ sounds very final Ben…
It’s a bit like getting married: You work up to the wedding (often with other couple around at different stages too), but then the wedding day arrives, and all of a sudden it becomes real that, far from the End of anything, this is the start of a whole new adventure!
So make sure you’re ready for the start of life with my grandchild! :)
Ben said,
Hmm – I may have unintentionally sounded pessimistic. The End of this Line is also the Beginning of a much longer, and much better, Line. How’s that? ;)
Kathleen said,
Also a good song :)
Enjoy the anticipation!