Father’s Day 2018

Father’s Day 2018

Psalm 127

Congratulations! You’re now a father.

I remember when it happened and how it happened but I do not remember being ready for it to happen to me.

The mystery of life became evident when I became a father. I was 27 years old when my wife gave birth to our daughter.

I did not grow up on a farm and we never had many pets so the act of birth was something I knew very little about. We attended prenatal classes at least I think I made it to a few of them. I had even seen videos as part of my training as a police officer.

Somehow all the education and preparation failed to prepare me for the actual event. My wife had been threatening to have the baby at home in the bathtub, a water birth. She had read an article about it. Pregnant Mom’s to be love reading articles.

On Oct 1st 1984 I found Fran up early around 6 AM soaking in the tub when she confessed to me that she thought she was having labor pains.

I immediately ordered her out of the tub and into some clothes so we could head to the hospital. She reluctantly complied as she insisted I just return home as the pains were just starting. I did not turn around, I knew I needed the help of professionals.

A primordial fear had gotten hold of me that morning that would not let go. I had never even seen kittens or puppies being born and I was not about to calmly observe as our first child entered the world doing the breast stroke in our bathtub.

We made it to the hospital and just as Fran had predicted we had to wait, she was nowhere near ready to deliver.

Well word got out and family visited but mostly Fran paced the hallway of the hospital as I went to work. Back then you did not get time off for such events, there was no such thing as maternity or parental leave. I can only imagine her thoughts about me as she paced up and down the floor.

Fortunately Fran’s doctor was a baseball fan and the American League Championship Series was on the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals were in a battle to go to the World Series and the Doctor did not want to miss it. As a result Fran was induced and our bouncing baby girl arrived on Oct 2nd just about at the start of the second inning. Detroit won the game 8 to 1 and continued to sweep the series and go on to win the World Series on Oct 14th.

It was an unforgettable event for me and I would have preferred to wait in the hallway but I did my duty. Birth is a lot like life, it is messy and exciting and amazing all at the same time. I was so rattled I tried to put the little foot booties on my head instead of on my feet.

I kind of think I know how Adam felt when Eve gave birth to Cain. Dumbfounded.

Following the arrival of a newborn there is much to contend with, caring now for Mother and Child is a big deal. Like I say back then we could not take time off to do this. Family members were quick to visit but few were willing to help and Fran had to manage on her own.

In preparation for this blessed event I thought it would be a novel idea to build our child’s crib with my own two hands. My intention was to build something that would become a family heirloom. Something to be passed to future generations.

If you have heard about some of my previous adventures in woodworking you know I was unsuccessful at building a simple dog house so how was I going to build a crib? I started the doghouse by beginning with the roof. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

I, like Fran had also been reading magazines about parenthood during this time and I found an article with step by step directions about how to build a crib.

It had all the measurements laid out and it even had sliding doors for storage. But as you may well know “I’m not that guy.”

So I took the article to a place where they make furniture and asked the owner to just cut the pieces and I’ll assemble it and paint it. In my mind that would qualify as building it myself. Right?

I put it together and added big caster wheels and painted it all up. (Lead proof paint) The big mistake I made was to put it together in the nursery. That would later prove to be a mistake as it would not fit through the doorway after I had it all finished. To get it out of the Nursery I had to remove the door trim and frame when we moved to Wallaceburg a year later.