Twas The Night Before Fatherhood

Twas the night before fatherhood when all through our home

Not a creature was stirring, not even Frasier with his bone.

The bags were all packed and set by the door with care,

With expectations that Ava would soon be here.

 

Mike was nestled all snug in his bed,

While Michelle was awake with one thought in her head.

She had pains in her back and her belly felt funny,

So she ran in the room to wake up her honey.

 

When several attempts failed to wake Mike from his nap,

She finally prevailed with one, hard, quick slap.

Away from the bed Mike flew like a flash,

“This is it!”, he said as he drank his Red Bull stash.

 

The Red Bull readied Mike, he felt full with power,

He would need it as the hospital drive would be in morning rush-hour.

Mike ran about the house, trying to remember what to do,

He was burning precious time trying to find his other shoe.

 

Michelle yelled at Mike, so lively and quick,

“Just grab another pair of shoes, you’re being slow as s**t.”

He packed up the car, this was no time to lag,

Mike was so flustered he nearly forgot the baby bag.

 

He started the engine and revved up the all-wheel drive sleigh,

Not to get pulled over is what he would pray.

The sky was barely lit by the bright orange sun,

The first major challenge was route 51.

 

They flew through traffic like water through a funnel,

The only delay was when they hit the Liberty Tunnel.

In the car Michelle was breathing heavy to ease her pains,

Mike was breathing even heavier as he quickly switched lanes.

 

When up in the distance, what did appear,

It was West Penn hospital, they were almost there.

They pulled up to the entrance with very much clatter,

The nurses ran out to see what was the matter.

 

Michelle was swept away to her room with such care,

Her increasing pains meant Ava would soon be here.

Then for some reason Ava’s heart rate started to slow,

The doctors knew they had to start this show.

 

In the OR Michelle was sedated and cut from one side to other,

In a few short moments they would be a father and a mother.

The C-section wasn’t planned, now that was for sure,

Who knew that Ava would come out the ‘side window’ instead of the ‘door’?

 

The doctor pulled out Ava and announced her birth with a shout,

Daddy peeked over the curtain and saw mommy turned inside out.

Then daddy heard a sound that made him give a relieved, thankful sigh,

That sound was Ava giving a heartfelt, newborn cry.

 

He ran over to see his new gift that could have been adorned with bows,

The first thing he did was make sure she had the right number of fingers and toes.

Daddy told mommy of Ava’s beauty as he held her hand,

But mommy wasn’t all there, the anesthesia put her in la-la land.

 

Daddy teared up, his eyes all red,

“Congratulations papa!”, is what was said.

Feelings of joy and love did surface,

Daddy knew his life had a new purpose.

 

Now in their room, there came a burst through the door,

It was a huge crowd of family that knocked nurses to the floor.

There were cousins, aunts and uncles, all over the place,

But it was the grandparents who really couldn’t wait to see Ava’s sweet face.

 

Finally at night, Michelle held her beautiful little girl,

In mommy’s eyes Ava was more precious than a pearl.

Both mommy and daddy were thankful for this gift from above,

They were now truly a family, rich with love.

 

 

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours and have a healthy new year. Thank you for reading and supporting this blog throughout the year, as well as all the kind words and support.