On 9:15a.m the nurse practitioner exclaimed, “Your water broke! You need to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW.”

My water broke? What? How did I not notice that? And OH MY GOD Josh was hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania. My mind started to calculate. How long would it take him to get to me? Was there a chance Marlee would arrive without him? Would I deliver ALONE?

(Despite popular belief, water breaking is not always a dramatic gush of liquid that cannot be mistaken for something else.)

I called Josh and burst into tears. “Marlee is coming. I am going to the hospital.” I sensed his smile. He was excited. I was terrified.

He calmly talked to me then hung up. All eyes were on him as he shared, “my wife is having our baby.” His customer quickly jumped up to end the meeting. Josh assured him that he had time to finish the meeting and get to the airport for the next flight. A bold move – his team closed the deal on the spot.

Meanwhile I called my dad. “Dad, go to my house. Pick up my bag. Meet me at the hospital.”

My dad asked, “are you serious?”

Apparently my calm tone indicated that perhaps this was a joke. He quickly moved from disbelief to anticipation. “Wait, where are you? Should you be driving? Pull over, I’ll come get you”.

I assured him that I was in control of the 10 minute drive to the hospital. I reminded him that he had a written set of instructions that he should follow (main instruction was to not inundated the nurses with questions.)

Meanwhile Josh arrived at the airport. He begged the United staff to let him on the flight. He asked to make an announcement. Surely someone would offer their seat to a man who was heading home for the birth of his first born. Denied. He paced the waiting area hoping he would make it onto the flight despite being the 8th person on the standby list.

Miraculously he got on the flight.

He rushed into the hospital room hours before delivery began.

Finally it was time. Marlee was ready to make her entrance.

After 16 hours of labor (2 of which were painful and intense) , 2 doctors, 4 nurses, and a few pep talks I declared, “I can’t do this” and asked for a c-section. The doctor moved from her post at the end of the bed to be by my side. She gently said, “No. You can do this. Do it now”.

The next day at 1:23 a.m. we met Marlee Rose (nicknamed sunflower and Moo / Moozle) for the first time. We were immediately mesmerized and captivated.

Happy birthday, Miss Marlee!

She was sometimes peaceful and often noisy.

Age 7, brimming with personality and oh-so-thoughtful and sweet.