Livening Up the Dog Days

I interrupt this blog for a special announcement. Cancel my plans for Sunday, August 19. Clear my calendar. I'm going to meet my daughter that day.

Or possibly the next day.

We found out yesterday that my wife's doctor recommends inducing labor two weeks prior to her scheduled September 2 due date. This means many things.

First, it means My Lovely Wife, who has never shied from any circumstance in life will likely avoid her greatest fear: natural labor and child birth.

Also, it allows me to think of my daughter being "inducted" into the world, which sounds much more formal than "born." Think about it, most of us are simply born into life. But you are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now, which is the more impressive verb?

Finally, it means that this - this whole having a baby thing - is really going to happen. And I now know when.

Yes, there are other ways in which the pregnancy felt "real." I didn't always spend my free time on the Babies R Us Web site, my wife didn't always have boobs the size of small asteroids, and the last time I used a camera to spy on an unsuspecting woman, it didn't happen at an OB/GYN office. But having a date - a real set date - that's real. (on a related note, that previous sentencec? that's deep.)

What I didn't know until my wife was expecting was that due dates are not much more than educated guesses. Do you know anyone who was born on - or delivered on - their due date? After the airlines and weathermen, prenatal doctors are the worst prognosticators by profession.

But on August 19, 2007 - National Aviation Day - there will be three of us. It's like the opposite of a wrestling match: The Maternity Ward: Two Will Enter, Three Will Exit.

Depending on circumstances, that night, Sunday, August 19, could be the last quiet night in my life for two decades.

On one hand, it's comforting to know that our doctors will be in control of the labor and delivery process; hopefully there will not be any surprises. With the other hand, I can point to that terrifyingly delightful moment when family goes from concept to reality, and I, quite literally, have a mouth to feed. It is thrilling and frightening at once.

I think it's better to know the date than not - one of my mantras the past six months has been "I want to know as much as possible, because there will be so much I don't know." (another mantra: "Holy fuck, how do I do this?"). I'm also glad to know that that delivery will be August 19 because the Phillies are in town the week before, and I have tickets. I have to babyproof the stadium.