Waiting for Abby

Our wait was worth it. We’d broken up the 16-hour drive into two days, arriving two days before the due date. Our only worry then was the baby arriving before we did. But it didn’t. And it didn’t arrive on the due date. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. Was this baby ever going to come? Now our worry was our missing the birth altogether. But we weren’t going to do that, so we extended our stay for another four days, two days after the induction of birth. And continued to wait. On the day of the birth, we took our first grandchild to the zoo, biding time, keeping her entertained, checking our phones regularly for a call that never came. But in the early evening the call came – a girl, 7 lbs. 5 oz., 19.75”, no name yet. Our granddaughter Ellie had a little sister. We dressed Ellie in her welcoming clothes (“Big Sister” shirt), and were at the hospital an hour later, four hours after the birth of our new granddaughter, now with a name, Abigail Rose:

We stayed almost two hours that first night, introducing ourselves. We left early the next morning, but not before stopping by the hospital and spending another hour’s visit. Again, the wait was worth it. Well worth it.