So we got up this morning, and Jean ran to the pharmacy to get the test. I waited patiently in the den while she took it. After a few minutes she called me. There on the sink lay the test. Two pink lines. We both burst out laughing.

We're going to have a baby.

We hadn't been trying, but we weren't not trying. It's been kind of a "Thy will be done" thing, though we had a pretty good feeling how that approach would work out.

But now it's happening.

Jean called her doctor's office. Even though it's a Saturday, we wanted to get the official word. Her doctor wasn't in, but another physician saw Jean and confirmed it. A baby.

After the doctor's office we went straight to Borders, where we bought two books: What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Pregnancy Journal. The second book is a day-to-day account of what's going on with Jean and the baby.

A baby.

We drove by the hospital where Jean will most likely have our baby, then picked up some groceries. Jean picked up some pregnancy vitamins. While Jean was at the pharmacy getting her vitamins I got her half a dozen red roses and a pink and a blue balloon. At home, Jean napped, then took a walk.

So this is it. Beginning today, June 6, 1998, our lives take a new direction. I'm glad that we've taken so long before starting a family. By the time our son or daughter joins us, we'll have been married for nine great years. I think we've got a firm foundation for a family, and we're still fairly young.

So to whoever you are in there: Hello. I'm looking forward to meeting you.

[Okay, okay. So sue me for not explicitly mentioning this was a flashback up front.]