What an interesting day

So yesterday was a day filled with extreme ups and downs. The day started off in a horrible way. As I was going to bed on Monday night (techinically Tuesday morning, since it was about 3:30 when I went to lay down) I thought I heard Steve's car start up and take off. His car is really loud and I can always tell when he's driving around the apartment. He was at Laura and Andy's place hanging out, which is a block away, and the only reason I could think he was in his car was to take Jenna home. So, I thought I would wait a bit and see when he got home so I could see him before leaving for the hospital.

I fell asleep before he came home. Which is good, considering he didn't come home. I got the call that they induced Rachel and should start heading over to the hospital a little after 7. He wasn't in bed. He wasn't on the couch. He wasn't in the office or any of the bathrooms. He just wasn't there.

So I started off by thinking he passed out at Andy and Laura's. But then I remembered hearing his car. And I know Jenna lives kinda far away and thought if her trains quit running after a certain time, Steve would be the only one with a car to get her home, unless she took a cab. That's when the panic started.

So I called Laura's cell, Andy's cell, their home, over and over again and got no answer. Then I thought of all the people who would know Jenna's number, since I didn't, and thought about people who did Hack/Slash with her, thinking they would have contact sheets to look at. It got to the point where if I could get ahold of her I would know whether or not he had taken her home or was still at the house.

No one was answering their phones and it created frustration on top of fear. I finally thought, on the off chance, that he would have left his cell phone here, since it's turned off presently. He did. I plugged it in, got Jenna's number, and left a panicked message. Never heard from her.

Finally, I tried the house one more time and Laura answered. I asked if Steve was there and she said to hang on a minute. Found him on the couch. I was so relieved and happy that he was safe, but at the same time, that fear turned to rage because I was about to go to a hospital to help my friend give birth, and this was not the day to be afraid my husband was dead on the side of the road or in some hospital because a drunk 4th of July driver smashed into him.

That crisis averted, I kept going to the hospital. On three hours of sleep. And spent the next 14 hours helping my friend give birth to an amazingly beautiful baby girl named Clementine. She is gorgeous!

And I must say, Rachel has earned a whole new level of my respect. She was induced, which causes a labor twice as painful, and wanted to do it naturally. She suffered through a very slow dialation process, no sleep and no food since the afternoon before. As she finally resigned herself to the fact that she just had no energy anymore to push, and no blood sugar to add to it, she agreed to take an IV sedative to get some sleep for a few hours before the pushing. The pain never went away, but it was possible for her to sleep between and during some lighter contractions. When the time came, she was such a strong pusher that she only had to push twice per contraction. She pushed and rested for about 40 minutes, and the baby came charging out.

It was beautiful. Like the births I had witnessed before, just absolutely beautiful. And the happiness on the faces of the parents warmed my heart.

And Steve and I worked out our shit. He thought I was overreacting to the whole situation. Then I explained to him why I felt that way and he understood the panic.

All in all, it was a day fueled by little food, even less sleep, some panic and fear, then sweet release with the birth.

All ended very well. It was, all in all, an amazing day.