Lo! A child is born unto us!

Elina "Little Greek Dragon" Bougis 帛昀臻 was born at 0944 on 13 March 2012, a ropey 57cm and weighing in at 3420g! Hallelujah!

Well, where were we?

I managed to sleep a good four hours, but then woke to Betty saying she was "shaking again." The nurse suggested it might be due to the lidocaine. I got her some hot water, used the bathroom, and when I returned, she felt much better, had stopped shaking. Not being able to fall asleep again immediately, I decided it was time for an update, so aren't you lucky! In my grogginess, I imagined myself in very old film footage, the kind used for home videos or news reels in the Thirties or so. Sped up, jumpy, grainy, overexposed. There I was, on a city sidewalk at midday, in front of my small business, handing cigars and pats on the back to my friends as we made cheesy, machu poses for the camera. "I'm a father now, you hear, and that's my daughter, greatest thing in the world, and I'm the luckiest SOB in the world, now have a cigar!" Why let Hollywood's inveterate melancholy and leeching cynicism about marriage and the family rob me of my divine right to be archly proud of my offspring and atavistically loyal to my wife? Drama and woe sell, but the small way of humility, simplicity, and piety is the path of everlasting life.

Last night after 11, I went for a walk to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It greatly calmed and encouraged me, and I came back to Betty feeling like a decent enough husband, and like at least a basically striving Catholic. This Lent has been harder for me than others of recent memory. That's all for the good, however, since it may suggest I'm taking up that much more of my share in the Cross. As we pray during the Stations, "We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world."

Betty's sleeping now, so I'll shut up and imagine myself having a cigar.

Updates from the hospital...

After a second hit of the lidocaine, Betty is feeling golden. Her lower right side is basically numb, but the left side still has more feeling. Apparently her contractions have become nicely periodic and steady, so the doc says there's no need to induce. So, we're looking at a March 13th birth, and I'd very much like to claim St. Matilda of Nordhausen as Elina's patron saint. Matilda is a very interesting saint, and what's more, she's German! As a German major who became a Catholic, I'm tickled to imagine my daughter learning not only the Faith, but also die prächtige deutsche Sprache!

LINK: http://www.google.com.tw/search?hl=en&gl=tw&client=ms-android-htc&source=android-browser-goto&q=matilda+catholic+saint&sky=mrdr