‘Twas five days before Christmas, when all through our house,
every creature was stirring, even Lucy the pup.
I scurried about, picking up this, cleaning up that,
multi-tasking left and right with all of my might.
‘Twas five days before Christmas, when all through our house, every creature was stirring, even Lucy the pup.
I scurried about, picking up this, cleaning up that, multi-tasking left and right with all of my might.
My ankles were swollen to 10 times their size, but I carried on with the decorating and baking of pies.
For soon family would come from near and from far, presents and pets stacked to the roof of the car.
There was no time to spare, Christmas and our firstborn baby wouldn’t wait for anything, they didn’t care.
I sped to the Outlets for some last-minute buying, stopping at three stores for great bargain spying.
But I gasped when I returned from my shopping, finding half-eaten chocolates strewn all over the carpeting.
There was only one being that could have committed this mess: none other than Lucy her highness.
“Lucy, you dimwit,” I said scolding her soundly. “In no time at all you’ll be throwing up a good bit.”
I grabbed some paper towels and Nature’s Miracle, getting all set for the chocolate to take effect.
Then my husband, Chris let out a loud hoot upon returning from the dreaded 101 commute.
“I can’t wait until the widening is complete,” he bellowed. “That drive has me beat.”
I took his coat and offered him a glass of wine, then an invitation to go out to dine.
He stopped in his tracks and didn’t blink, instead grabbing our coats with a wink.
We cruised through downtown Gilroy, ate a nice meal then oohed and aahed over the Christmas tree that had been decorated with zeal.
Turning the car homebound, we sang yuletide carols and giggled happily, thinking of our growing family.
Lucy greeted us when we walked inside. Oh what a nag, whimpering for love, affection and the contents of the doggy bag.
Later that night, as I laid down for sleep, I cocked my head, but heard not a peep.
Ah, I thought peace and quiet at last, but little did I know the stillness would end fast.
At about three o’clock in the morning, I bolted upright in bed, awoken by the rain and the wind roaring.
A pain in my tummy was really to blame. I suddenly wondered could this be the real thing or just a false labor pain?
What if I wasn’t ready? Oh, gee. What would we do? And what kind of parents would we turn out to be?
These questions rang loudly in my head as I stumbled out of bed. Then I paced until the carpet was worn, wondering would this be the night our child is born?
A few moments later I received my answer: ‘Twas not labor pangs I felt, just a case of indigestion that I had been dealt.
But I knew in no time at all we would greet our beautiful daughter and one day look back at everything we had taught her.
As I lay back in our darkened room, I pictured the little girl asleep in my womb.
Sleepless nights and joyous days would await us following her birth. At that moment, I felt like the luckiest person on Earth.
