Daughter tardiness, pt. 02.

Still no sign.

Becca's going to give waterbirth a try. That means she'll deliver the baby in a tub, a bathtub, a big bathtub.

Of water.

I will be in there as well, assisting, bringing her bubbles, toys, pictures of Johnny Depp, or anything else that will help her focus on things other than physical trauma.

Amidst this joyous anticipation, there's one small bit that's been troubling me. Becca was informed that she had the option of

A) being nude for delivery or
B) wearing minimal clothing, such as a sports bra.

I, however, was specifically told that

I do NOT have the option of assisting her in the naked.

I will be forced to wear shorts, which I find highly sexist. Apparently they're concerned that it could be "distracting" to hospital staff.

Not like I was planning on jogging back and forth between the vending machines, not frequently anyway.

No matter how much we flatter ourselves for our progression as a society, there are times when I tremble with fear at the troglodytic peons forcing their will upon the people.

This would NEVER happen in Bulgaria.

__

I do have a strong feeling she's coming tonight.

I reluctantly point out that I've had similarly strong feeling for the past four nights. I am not gaining much respect on the Baby Seer front. But seriously, probably tonight. I can feel it.

Gotta go try and sew some Saran wrap board shorts. Keep you posted.

——

As the time approaches where she bursts into the sunlight, I ask myself more and more : what will she need from us over the years? Now is obvious. Later is less so.

What can we do, what can I do, as her dad, to help, as Mary Pipher asks in the introduction to her essential book Reviving Ophelia, to strengthen girls?

How can I help her be ready to face a world that is not fair, just, equal, or respectful?

How can I encourage and build up and bring out both the toughness and the softness in the best balance possible?

And as importantly, what can I do to change the world around her, in little ways, to make life better? Not just for her, because she’s my daughter,

but for all girls, all girls who will at some point be pre-adolescents and adolescents and teens and…and struggle in ways and with challenges I’m not familiar with? How can I fight to smooth out some of the bumps and rocks ahead that shouldn’t be there?

How can I know when to dig a boulder out of the road ahead of her, and when to teach her how to climb that same boulder well?

Or when to steal a crane or bulldozer and just move it the flippety-eff out of the way?

I got a lot to figure out, a lot to learn.

Can’t wait.