Change of plans

When I woke up yesterday I had a plan.

A schedule.

I had written it down in a notebook.

Black ink. White paper.

In the morning I started on my list. Made it to about item two.

And then the cell phone rang.

It was Emma.

And her sweet baby boy was about to be born.

So I tossed the list aside, tossed the kids in the car and headed out of town.

Two hours later I was kissing the soft head of a two hour old dark-haired newborn baby.

Miller Ogden – what a beautiful little person.

We stayed at the hospital for the entire afternoon, the kids getting an overdose of PBS on the lobby’s television and Riley trying not to steal all of the baby holding time.

Eventually we made our way out of the city, after dinner and ice cream with the brothers and the grandparents – also a blessing to see.

Despite a little downtown misdirection, we made it home, two plus hours. Between naps on the ride home, one tired former baby named Otto would lift his sleepy head and ask, “Momma. I go home?”

The grocery list lay crumpled in my bag.   The to-do list is still sitting on the desk.

But I don’t care.

Being there, at that moment, was completely worth it.