I was just coming out of the bathroom when the orderly came in with my lunch. Yay. Salisbury Steak - again - which was not what I ordered. I got settled back into bed, and she set the tray down on the wheeled table, bringing it close in to me. I didn’t say a word about the steak - it wasn’t worth it.
Just as I was about to click the TV back on and pick at my green beans, an amazing sight appeared. My three sisters (from my old sorority) came bustling in with excitement and best of all - real food!
“We come bearing gifts!” bubbled Sharlynn, another sister from the Alumnae Chapter of our sorority. She traveled frequently to Amsterdam and Germany for her job, and promptly plopped down a blue and white canister with Dutch writing on it. Stroopwafels, it said.
“These are amazing,” she beamed. “You have to try them!! They’re especially good dunked in coffee!”
Pam shuffled over. “How’s your back?” I asked, concerned about her lack of mobility.
“I’m ok standing up or lying down. I just can’t sit! I’m still working with my physical therapist.”
Delsa, the only one of them with whom I actually went to college, came over quietly, concern furrowing her brow. “How are you doing?”
That was a loaded question! But I just merely regurgitated back what I overheard the doctors say in their rounds that morning - status quo - just trying to keep the little one inside where he or she belongs.
I smelled something incredibly yummy coming from a bag they had brought in - I know it wasn’t my Salisbury Steak! Sharlynn followed my gaze, and exclaimed, “Oh, yeah! We brought you lunch!! Thai food from that restaurant down the street!”
My tastebuds leapt for joy and my mouth began to water, as I imagined the Pad Thai Noodles swirling around in my mouth. They took the tray of nasty hospital food off the table and set the container with the delicious peanut-infused noodles in front of me.
“So, we came today because we want to throw you a Baby Shower!!!” announced Sharlynn. “But we’re not sure how to go about it…”
“We’re not sure about the timing,” explained Delsa. “If we wait to have it in one of our homes, the baby may already be here, and we don’t really want to have it here in the hospital. What do you think?”
I almost choked on a bean sprout. I hadn’t even thought about a baby shower, I was so consumed with my current situation!
I swallowed hard and said, “Gosh, I don’t really know! You guys are so sweet to think of that! Maybe we should wait til after the baby comes and see?”
“Well, we want to celebrate you and the baby,” offered Pam. “This is your first one and we should commemorate it somehow, right?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her I didn’t feel like commemorating anything. I wanted to escape the never-ending reminder that there was a very good chance that all of this might not end well, not have it highlighted.
“Well, um, if you guys really want to, then maybe we could have it here. We celebrated Christmas in the lounge area. Maybe they’ll let us do it again for a shower.”
“Awesome!” exclaimed Sharlynn. "Ok, let’s pick a date. And of, course it will be Teddy Bear-themed!”
So, we settled on the end of January - the 31st to be exact, Super Sunday because the guys would be busy watching the game - as a “safe” date. It was late enough that it was the right time to have a shower, but early enough, if the baby should arrive by our goal of 34 weeks. He or she was due in April, but thinking of lying in bed until April seemed a gargantuan task!
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