The Cradle (CTL 9)

Countdown to Laughter

Issue 9

There is a cradle in my bed room. Most of the baby’s stuff is in a small bedroom which will be the nursery, so I don’t see it every day. There is a damn cradle in my bed room. When I get up to pee in the middle of the night, I walk by a cradle…..in my bed room. When I wake up in the morning, I see a cradle. It’s actually on loan from our friends Mark and Carrie. They told me it was an Amish cradle. I assume that it was hand made. I feel a little guilty in hauling it over in my truck instead of a horse drawn buggy.

This cradle is just another tangible reminder that big things are on the way.

Nancy is really hoping that the baby does not come this weekend. The Harry Potter book comes out Saturday morning, and she will probably have it read by Monday. I told her that if she does go into labor this weekend, and it ended up going for a really long time, she could just read through the whole thing.

I don’t think she bought it.

Mark explained to me that it’s not a good idea to have the TV tuned to ESPN during labor either. I think he is still paying for that.

Next weekend, I think my friends Alex and Little Matt are coming up to visit. Part of me hopes that the baby comes next weekend, so that they will both be part of the story of Isaac’s life from the beginning. (…..and then Nancy called over to Natty Green’s where Alex had just started a drunken ramble about his “Fat Tax” proposal and Matt was laughing hyena-like at it. Or, Nancy kept asking to go the hospital and I kept stalling to play just one more game of Star Wars Battlefront) Alex has already claimed the title of “Ungodlyfather” if Isaac makes an appearance while they are in town.

The cheap part of me has already started making a mental tally of which restaurants kids eat free at for each night of the week. My thought is, Nancy and I go in, bring Isaac, order food for him, and then take it home in a to go box. (If Nancy eats the leftovers, then technically Isaac will get some too.)

Finally, I started reading the book “Operating Instructions” by Ann Lamott. Nancy had already read it and recommended it to me. I love it and recommend it highly. She’s a former addict, and thoroughly familiar with her dark side, so the subject matter can be dark at times, but it’s a great read. It’s her diary of her first year as a single mother. It’s good to know ahead of time that we are going to feel like total failures at times.

Big Matt