And suddenly, we were a family. Suddenly, our lives would forever be changed. Suddenly, I was a father.
Few things in my life have stuck with me, constantly bringing me back to that point in time. Watching Arlo being born and the minutes following his arrival will forever be etched into my mind and soul. In a split second, you meet someone and immediately fall in love with them, and when I say love, I’m talking about an unbreakable bond.
It all happened so fast. Even though we had nine months to prepare ourselves, that Monday afternoon was a blur. In a span of 8 hours, Emily and I went from expecting, to overjoyed parents of a beautiful boy.
The contractions began Sunday evening. We were at a family party when they started. On the way home, she was timing them and getting anxious as we got closer to home. We decided to rest that night as Emily continued to monitor them. To her surprise, they ceased over night and when I woke up, she was pretty upset that they had not progressed.
While I got ready for work in the morning, she called her mom who convinced her to go into the doctor that morning to make sure everything was ok. Then the fun began. A little after noon, Emily called me to say her doctor is sending her to the hospital because she was dilated 3 cm.
I raced to the hospital. A drive that normally takes me an hour, took half that amount of time. As I ran into the delivery ward, my hands full of bags and pillows, I was greeted by her parents who pointed me to her room. As I walked in and saw her in the gown and on the bed, my feelings for her jumped to levels I had never felt before. This woman was about to go through a situation that would bring so much joy into our lives that everything else seems less important. Immediately, I became calm and reassured we were both ready for this long journey to end and a new one to begin.
We walked around the hospital for a couple hours in an attempt to progress her labor. At 5:30pm, the doctor broke her water and her contractions entered an unexpected level of pain. Emily endured. She dealt with the pain amazingly as I watched and did what I could to help her along the way.
Finally, at 8:44pm, Arlo Ryland was born. As I shouted, IT’S A BOY!!! and he was placed on Emily’s chest, we both began to cry. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. My mind immediately scanned the last 9 months that led to this moment. I thought about the previous years Emily and I had spent together. From our first few months together, to our time as man and wife, I thought about what will happen to us in the next couple months and years, and then finally back to that moment I walked into the delivery room to see Emily on the bed.
Life is good. Everyday when I get home, I’m greeted by my beautiful wife holding our amazing son. I get to create a future with my best friend. I get to teach and share my favorite things with Arlo. I get to relive June 6, 2011 just by closing my eyes.
AP
