Three to Get Ready, Now Go Cat Go! (CTL 24)

Countdown to Laughter

Issue 24

There is definitely a high level of weirdness around the house. Nancy and I are both wired tonight. I wanted to go to sleep early since I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the dentist, and will definitely be getting up around 4:00 in the morning Friday.

For some reason, Nancy took down all the family pictures in the hall. To make room for when we get pictures of Isaac. It’s 11:30 at night, and she is clearing wall space. Evidently the pictures of Isaac will be back from Sears by Saturday.

I suggested that if she was going to do some nesting, make it something useful. That explains why I am far away from her right now.

I’m sure the next 48 hours will be a blur.

48 hours from now I will be a parent. I talked to my buddy Danny tonight, and he asked if I was nervous. I wasn’t at the time, but I am a little bit now.

I had several goofy funny things on my mind to write about, but they are all gone now. By this time Friday I will be responsible for a baby.

Tomorrow, I will wake up early, have breakfast, go to the dentist, go to work, have dinner with Nancy and our friends Marnie and Daniel, and then go to sleep.

5:30 in the morning, Friday, we leave as two, return as three. I’m not scared, just excited.

One funny thing that happened this weekend. I had a dream on Saturday night that was unusual. I dreamt that Women’s Hospital’s delivery floor was in fact a “Star Wars Battlefront” video game level. The whole hospital was overrun with Stormtroopers, and I had to capture the majority of the nursing station in the building before they would let Nancy deliver. I spent the whole dream chasing down Stormtroopers, while Nancy yelled at me to hurry up, and capture all the bases. Weird.

In all seriousness, if I don’t have a chance to write tomorrow, please take a moment or two on Friday and pray for Nancy. If you aren’t the type who prays, just take a minute to think about us. Pray that we are at peace, and that we feel the presence of God, mother/father of us all. Pray for Isaac, for safe passage. Pray that Nancy will find previously unknown strength. Thank you.

Finally, we did our last ultrasound a few days ago. Just a few thoughts. His heart is pumping away. As far as I can tell, he’s in the right position. (Head first, facing the right way) His head is about roughly 11 cm in diameter (4.5 inches). I checked last night. That’s going to be a tight squeeze. There is less than an inch between his foot and the outside world. When we looked, his foot was flat against the front wall.

I’d been thinking about buying cigars. I remember when my cousin Andy was born, my uncle Johnny bought a box of cigars (I think in the hospital gift shop). I remembered thinking how cool that was to be able to pass out cigars. I also recall that he got in a little trouble with my aunt for buying a whole box. I want to buy some, but I work with all women at a heart surgeon’s office, so I’d probably just end up giving them to the youth at the church. I think Johnny’s box was eventually given away at a family Christmas gift exchange years later.

The few people I know who do smoke cigars would instantly know that they were cheap, and would think so much less of me. They’d stroke their thick beards, cluck their tongues and say, “Whatever shall we do with this Matt Cravey”. What a bunch of assholes.

Nancy has rearranged the pictures and is now slowly explaining to the dog that the baby is coming soon.

No sleep tonight.

Big Matt