Not my fault

Last week I was chatting with Joey (OK, we were texting) and he was mentioning something about hoping the babies would come by the weekend. I told him to take it easy, they had a lot of time left.

My assurance called for an explanation and I had two for him. I explained that, first of all, I started reading "Anne of Green Gables" to Lisa in December and when we started the book I told her that the twins would be born after we finished the book. Secondly, I was not yet finished with the quilts that I had meant to send over with Dana and the babies couldn't come until they were done.

Joey made it clear that I was to get moving on the sewing and double up on our bedtime reading--pronto!

It brought me back to my own waiting game that I played seventeen years ago as I watched the January 16 due date for our sixth child come and go. That due date was a full week behind me before I resigned myself to a pile of sewing/mending that I knew should be finished before the baby came. I especially needed to finish (OK, start and finish) sewing a Bible cover that my six-year-old had been asking me to make. I finished the mending in the afternoon and after supper I reluctantly began my final project. Keith asked me what I was doing and I told him,

"God isn't going to let me have this baby until the Bible cover is done."

I had to take a few breaks to give baths, brush teeth, and tuck little ones in bed. But, at 10 PM I sewed my last stitch and snipped my last thread. I turned off my machine while uttering a satisfied, "There!, and threw the cloth zippered case to Keith for his inspection.

"I'm done," I told him, "now we can have the baby."

I stood up and headed for the bathroom. Halfway there my water broke. Really. Talk about a sign!

So, for Joey and Jamie's sake, I delighted Lisa with an extra half hour of bedtime reading to finish the book and had a two day sewing marathon to finish the blankets. Here they are, positive proof that I am NOT the hold-up.