She’s Got Rhythm

I forgot to mention one thing about the birth of Emmy. The staff monitored her heart throughout labor, so the amplified beat provided a steady backdrop to the hours and hours of waiting. It was the one constant as we went from giddy to punchy to exhausted to emotional. Toward the end, as I stood next to Yo-Nenny’s bed, I realized that I was rocking out to the rhythm, tapping my foot and bobbing my head: thump-thump-thump-thump. I glanced over at one of the residents. She was doing the same. Across the room, the other doc was also unconsciously swaying to the tempo as she assembled birth tools. Little Emmy’s heartbeat pulled us through the hours.

Boy, did I miss that little bugger during the two days I went to Sacramento to prepare for my conference presentation. By the time I got on the Atlanta-bound plane, I was experiencing severe withdrawal, talking to anyone who would listen (and some who wouldn’t) about my new granddaughter. Throughout the conference I missed the tiny little human, going teary on multiple occasions at the memory. Back in Sac for two days I felt I had a crack down the middle: I relish time spent with my friend there, yet I had a simultaneous yearning to be with the new creature. Here she is yesterday.

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