He Was There...

My Dad and I

My dad passed away 41 days before our daughter was born. I was heartbroken. Everyone told me that I would feel his presence in the delivery room. I was skeptical. "Easy for them to say", I told myself. 

My water broke at 3:00 pm. I'm immediately sent to labor and delivery as I am 3 cm and 100% effaced. I call my husband to tell him to come, and then get checked in and changed. 

After a little while, I look up at the clock and notice it says 12:00. I figured the clock needed new batteries, no big deal. I look up again and the hands on the clock are spinning around and around and around. "That's him," I think to myself. "That's my dad." The labor and delivery nurse says, "That clock is going to drive me nuts if it does that. I have to take it down." As calmly as I could, I muster, "You can't. You can't take it

Mom and Dad at the
Gender Reveal Party

down. That's my dad telling me he's here. You see, my dad was born on April Fool's Day and has always lived up to that. He was always a jokester and loved every minute of it. You can't take it down." For whatever reason, that clock was so comforting to me. I know it sounds strange, but even though my husband hasn't arrived at the hospital yet, I feel an overwhelming calm. I just know that everything is going to be fine.

About nine hours later, after an epidural that didn't take, almost two and a half hours of hard pushing, and a second degree tear that I could feel every stitch being sewn, our angel was born. At 11:16 pm, Hope Micheal entered the world at 8 lbs, 2 oz. and we wouldn't have changed a thing.

~ Marcy

My husband, Josh,
Our Sweet baby Hope,
and Me right after she arrived