kiss of the spider...

In a few days we're going to find out if The Impending Heir of All That Is Great in The World (Especially Me) will be a boy or a girl, but because we are of a certain age, (over 40, but not by much) there's a boatload of stuff we have to think about that we would rather not. Down syndrome is especially a concern. Well, going into the amniocentesis test, all indications are that we don't have much to be worried about, but Ms. Scribe needs 100% assurance...so, we let the doctor stick that giant needle in her.

I won't pretend that I was the rock she leaned upon in her time of distress. I did what any good husband should do, I stroked her hair, whispered encouragements, and did my best to keep her eyes gazing at me instead of watching the needle dig into her womb.

In that moment, I could see my wife digging deep and finding a reserve of fortitude she did not know she had. She looked at me as if I were the cause of her discovery, yet, watching her find her strength only made me feel stronger for her and the baby.

The spider's web, and the silk it's made with, is one of the strongest and most flexible things known to man. One reason for its strength is the network of interlocking connections within the web and the silk itself. This moment in the doctor's office, for whatever reason, drew this small factoid to the forefront of my mind. I thought of the connections between the three of us; wifey, baby, and me. It occured to me that our love, once just the simple cocoon two people withdrew to, has spun itself into a delicate spider web. Each tendril drawing strength from the other.

Once Upon a Time...

With news of The Impending Heir of All That Is Great in The World (Especially Me), Wifey Sweetbritches and I have been talking more than usual about our mutual family myths and legends. They can hold a family together, they can tear them asunder, but I believe the stories a family tells itself, and the stories a family tells the world, is at the core of what makes a family. It's the act of passing stories across generations that knits families together.

StoryCorps is an organization that helps preserve and pass along these stories. I recorded an interview with my brother back in 2006, so when I saw that one of their mobile recording booths is in Colorado I knew it was time to swap stories with Wifey for posterity. We did the standard 40 minute back and forth and made our charitable donation. I highly recommend the experience.

In the last five minutes, the session monitor asked us how we met, so, if you're interested, here's our Meet Cute story. Please do enjoy.