I was pregnant. I was the happy, but eager member of a family of 2- just Rob and me. On this date 11 years ago I had finished my last day of teaching and was looking forward to maternity leave. After all, I had so smartly planned my maternity leave to begin a WHOLE WEEK before my actual due date. I had things TO DO! There was a hair appointment, because who knew when the next time would be that I'd be able to do that again. Let's see....oh yeah. There was a "girls only" luncheon planned for my mom, my sister, and me, because who knew when I'd be able to do that again. And there was this pedicure scheduled, because who knew when I'd even CARE about the state of my toenails again!

And so, with all my important activities scheduled for the week, I was feelin' fine. Oh, yes I was. Rob and I had company come over to eat supper with us that night, and they brought their 10 month old baby girl. We oohed and aahed over her and played and thought, "We can hardly even wait." Of course, we had all the answers. Some babies might be cranky and erratic, but ours wouldn't be. He couldn't be. We had read up on THE latest and greatest child-rearing manual. God save the infants from know-it-all parents!!

I remember getting ready for bed that night. While washing my face, I noticed (again) how swollen my face was. I didn't gain a lot of weight, but I'm only 5'3", so there is not a lot of room for extra weight to go!! I looked at my out-to-there tummy and remarked (again) how there was no possible way for Harrison to grow any more. I was eager for the next day, because I was going to the hair salon and to the grocery store. Little did we know the next day would hold much bigger, and better surprises than a trip to the salon and Kroger...