The doctor had told Margaret there was no guarantee that there would be beds in the hospital on her due date, so they wanted to induce a week early. They went to the hospital Sunday night. And waited. And waited. And then Margaret went into real labor Tuesday in the wee hours, and Simon was born about 8:30. PM, that is. 8 lbs, 2 oz, 22 inches.
And everyone was healthy and happy. They came home on Thursday, which is only two days ago. Simon looks like he's starting to settle into his routine of sleeping, eating and pooping and peeing over everything as soon his diaper comes off. Speaking of diapers, Andrew is out right now on a diaper run, as Simon has used up all the littlest sizes. Hope there's more diapers than toilet paper supplies in the stores.
We had come down on Monday evening to help with the kitties. Jeff and Melodie were watching the dog. We went over to pick up D on Wednesday morning. In the pouring rain, we shouted from a safe distance but didn't linger. They seem well, and working as best they can from home. One thing I will say about the stay at home orders, it sure is easier to get around the crowded streets of DC. Give me the traffic any day.
Andrew's parents came down from Lancaster area yesterday for a quick visit to see their first grandchild. Exciting. And yesterday evening, we called down to Brazil on FaceTime to check in. They could only see Simon's ear sticking out from behind the blanket/snuggly get-up that I've never seen before but seemed to be working on keeping him calm and comfortable.
So, we're pretty much on a world-wide snow day for weeks. No baseball, no March madness (someone the other day playing basketball outside said it was March sadness). We see your news on social media about walking and following the news and maybe even playing games and binging Netflix. People around here are gardening and doing odd house chores and getting packages delivered. We tried to order Lysol wipes from Amazon, and their famous next-day service advised us we'd be getting them on May 22.
Mary's had a couple of Zoom meet-ups with her swim team friends; Leonor found an app called house-party and we did that last week. Annie and Sankar called in from their hike up some remote hillside outside of San Francisco.
Andrew and Lur continue their outings to check on her parents; Peter and Janet have taken to long drives, and realize that if this is what retirement is like, they're ready to keep working. David, Matthew and I just managed to squeak in a Shaker box workshop before the shutdowns really took hold. Jeffrey had to cancel at the last minute since a colleague tested positive. Matthew is looking great, making good progress on his health comeback. David must have had a quiet birthday since gatherings of more than 50 people were banned.
Down in Florida, John and Marilyn even gave up going to the pool to stay healthy. And we hear Sean has temporarily relocated to Dallas, where Erin is wrapping up her fellowship. Must be a different kind of fellowship this year. I suspect Johanna and Cameron will also always remember the year they married as their plans must be up in the air.
Thankfully, the nurses in the family are still working, putting themselves at risk, but helping everyone else. And, Margaret and Andrew sang the praises of their nurses during their stay.
And, on that note, welcome to the family, Simon.
