A Newcomer Arrives Essay, Research Paper

A Newcomer Arrives

? Mr. and Mrs. Gear I can assure you that Mrs. Gear is just fine. The only thing that I found was that the two of you are about to become parents, Congratulations!? I can still hear the doctor?s voice as he told us the wonderful news. We were going to have our first child in November. The sense of excitement was overwhelming as we rushed home to call everyone we knew. I still don?t know who was happier that day, the grandparents or us. After all, this would be the first grandchild on both sides of our family.

We couldn?t wait to start buying things for the little one and neither could anyone else. The gifts started pouring in months before the baby was due. We got everything from toys to clothes. For me it was frustrating at first because we did not know the gender of our baby yet. Everytime we went shopping we picked up another item. Once we learned we were having a girl we had to return part of the gifts. Thank god for the grandparents! They sent boxes constantly. I never knew we could spoil a baby that much before she arrived. By the last month of pregnancy we had quite a stockpile of baby supplies. I soon learned you can never have too much.

One of the many fun preparations that we got to do was decorate the nursery. We went with the Noah?s Ark theme. We had a white cast iron crib with gold balls at the top of every bar. The bedding was new and fluffy and perfectly set in the crib. The mobile was hanging with the animals looking down into the crib waiting to entertain the baby. There was a white dresser topped with stuffed animals, lamps, diapers and other things for our little girl. There was not a bear spot on the walls. They were filled with decorations of animals that tied everything together. There was a rocking chair in the corner with a blanket my grandmother had made draped over it.

Everything was perfect and my wife showed it to anyone that came over.

I was enlisted in the Army at this time. It just so happened that I was away from the base training when I received a message that a vehicle was being sent to return me to the base. Instantly, my mind began to race with every possible thought. When my ride arrived I asked ,?What is going on?? The only answer they would give me is that I needed to get home immediately. The ride to the base was long and the drive home seemed longer. The butterflies were in full swing, for I knew the time had come for the baby to arrive. I made it home just as my wife was heading out the door. I could tell by the nervous smile on her face that we should hurry. We arrived at the hospital in record time. The nurse took us up to the waiting room where they told us the contractions were not close enough together and sent us on our way to walk the floors of the hospital. Finally, after three hours of walking we were told they would admit her and put us in a room. We were both quite exhausted after being up for twenty-seven hours; of course my wife was worse than I was. We thought the baby would never get here. Then, before we knew what was happening they were taking us to the delivery room. The enthusiasm was back and all I could do was pray that everything would go smoothly. Sure enough, after thirty-two hours of labor our healthy baby girl was born.

As my daughter looked up at me and grabbed my finger with a squeeze that told me she depended on me, I fell in love immediately. It was not until that moment that I knew what unconditional love was. That love has only continued to grow over the past three years. I knew then that day would be looked back upon as one of the happiest days of my life.