I think my brother is pretty rad. I always have. We are VERY close in age (I’m older, he’s bigger) and so we’ve kind of always had each other to lean on through the goods, the bads and everything in between. I’m pretty sure we’ve not kept one secret from each other, ever.
Through the years Sean had some girlfriends. Most did not pass the test. The sister test. I was not impressed. When sister isn’t happy, brother knows it. Brother often does not care, but he knows.
And then he married Vinnie. It was like I went sister-in-law shopping and chose her myself. She’s the yin to his yang. The carrot to his peas. The peanut butter to his jelly.
And then they made a baby. A perfectly sweet and GORGEOUS little lady that we are all already completely smitten with.
But that baby had to get here. And early on I hinted that I would like to be there. I reminded them a lot that I should be called first so I could drop everything and get there. I also hinted that if said labour were to take place on a weekend, that would be so much easier for me as I wouldn’t have to come up with a sitter on short notice.
Araya complied. She broke mommy’s water on a Friday afternoon. Perfect. Dan came home and took over kid duty and I was off to the hospital with Vinnie’s mama to wait, rather impatiently, for Araya to make her debut.
Little did we know at the time, but there was no rush. Araya wanted some attention, but was SO NOT READY to come out. But there was no way either me or mama Singh wanted to go home. So we stayed. And we even mostly stayed out of the way.
Over the next 19 hours or so, we walked a lot, talked alot and laughed a lot. And surprsingly, while Vinnie took teeny cat naps, Sean and I got out for fresh air, coffee and quick walks. On our first walk, I snapped a self-portrait of the two of us and decided we should snap one on each walk. We did not know at the time that these quick pics would document our long path from excited energy to exhausted delirium.
Would you like to come with?
8:30 pm
11:30 pm
12;40 pm (First signs of crazy).
2:55 am (Laughing at nothing. Yup, crazy).
3:36 am (You are getting very sleepy).
5:19 am (Mama Singh, also feeling crazy, decided to join us).
7:24 am (Notice it is light outside again. These was taken a few moments before Sean, Mama Singh and I were in hysterics about stinky shoes and karata suits and also only about 6 minutes before we all finally and literally passed out).
And the last in the series was taken after Araya decided to join us. Showers were taken, clothes were changed, naps were had (by me – Sean, the new daddy, was still fairly zombie-ish) and meals were eaten. Oh, and LOTS of coffee was consumed. I was feeling fresh as a daisy. Look at me, the very proud new auntie.
And there you have it. I want to sincerely thank Sean, Vinnie and Araya for allowing me to be a part of one of the longest, most fun, most exciting nights of my young life. I’m honoured that I could be there with you. Just another chapter to add to our long story.
And for the record, Sean, it WAS your feet.
