Today's the day (almost)

We're headed to the hospital tonight. Well, we will be unless the hospital tells us to stay away because of a rash of women in labor (apparently they'd rather give the beds to women already in labor as opposed to women about to be induced. Go figure).

The plan: Head in tonight and they'll give Amanda something to get the ball rolling. Then, tomorrow morning, they'll give her something else that's supposed to really get things started. Then, sometime after that, it's baby time. If things go fast, I could be a dad in 24 hours. If things go slow, I sure hope I'm a dad within 48 hours.

Either way, I'm incredibly excited. And very nervous. I think Amanda, on the other hand, is incredibly nervous and very excited. I keep telling her everything is going be OK, and she keeps responding, "I hope so." She's in good spirits, but she's probably more nervous than I've ever seen her. (Actually, she was pretty nervous before her emergency appendectomy, but who wouldn't be?).
But the truth is, she really is amazing.
She's handling this whole thing really well. It is scary, but she's still spending part of her time trying to make sure I'll be comfortable throughout the whole process. I tell her not to worry about me, but that's just the kind of person she is.
I try to tell her all the time how much she means to me. I hope she understands how her strength has helped me through many things; and I hope my strength can help her handle whatever's coming in the next day and a half.
I love her. And I can't wait for both of us to share our love with our new baby.
We're almost there.