There I sat in a pleather seated chair in the perinatal testing center waiting room. It was nearly 9 years when I last did this. I can remember it so clearly and yet the reality of those 9 years is not lost on me. It’s been a long time. Our family is so different than it was then; I’m so different than I was then. The fact that I found myself even sitting there with a pile of coats in my lap waiting for a Chinese last name that no one can pronounce correctly to be called is evidence of that.
When we were called back, I sat behind her and witnessed her marveling at her first sight of her child. She had an ultrasound in China before but was never allowed to see the baby; only the doctor could look at the child and I doubt there was a lot of marveling going on.
They told me no pictures; it’s the hospital rules. And, they even put a friendly sign up there by the main attraction as a reminder. But, seriously, there was a father in China who had stayed up late so not to miss this. So, I may have snuck a picture or two and texted them to him real time.
Yeah, a lot has changed in 9 years, but I still can’t see much in these pictures. But, it didn’t matter; we admired this precious child as if those moving black and white fuzzy images were clear as day.
And, then we went down to the hospital lobby and got her husband on FaceTime. I held my iPhone up so he could watch as she opened up an envelope with a paper that said this.
At the same time, on opposite sides of the world, they laughed and smiled and teared up…together.
It’s a girl, friends. They are having a baby girl!
I know they can’t take a whole with them back to China…but I so wanna go buy some pink things!