A Catalog of Thanks

As I wrote the last post and reflected on the insanity that was the last two months of Emily's pregnancy, I was reminded just how impossible our ability to function would be without the help of others.  To accept so much help from others, initially, was a very hard thing for me to do.  But that doesn't make me any less grateful for all the love and support we have received.  And I have to remind myself, if the shoe were on the other foot, I would be just as eager to help.  So many people to thank!

• The cousins and aunts who painted our bedroom and Charlotte's bedroom.
• Zach who assembled Charlotte's crib with me (actually I did him a favor because he gets boners when he assembles IKEA furniture).  Zach also helped me restore Emily's old dresser to working order for Charlotte. 
• Doug and Erin who have taken Pancho off of our hands time and time again so I can focus on being with Emily (and eventually Emily and Charlotte).
• Erin also cleaned the house and sorted the baby clothes for us.  But like Zach, we were doing her a favor.  Organizing and cleaning gives Erin lady boners.
• My mom and sisters for helping host a shower for Emily and traveling all the way up from Texas for the occasion.
• Maureen and Angie for co-hosting as well.  Maureen hosted the shower in her home.
• Nathan for bringing us Potbelly sandwiches a few days after Charlotte's birth.
• Emily's mom for bringing food for Emily and just being herself.
• All the people who gave us gifts at Emily's shower.
• Nathan, Kirk, and Marty for organizing a Finn Shower for Dudes, which may go down in history as the most inappropriate shower ever.
• Emily's cousins Cait and Amy who made us two huge batches of excellent soup.
• Emily's mom cooked some spaghetti soup for me one night.
• My mom bought a library of books for Charlotte to grow up with.
• My niece Sophia and nephew Calvin both made homemade books for Charlotte back when she was just a future cousin in utero.
• My other niece Hannah is knitting Charlotte a scarf.
• As I type this, Emily's aunt Deb and her cousin Laurie are coming over with roast beef sandwiches.
• Bob and Jules made us some homemade mac and cheese freeze and store. 
• Laurie sent us so many supplies for Charlotte, like a car seat, swing, bassinet, and many other things.  Then Deb called on her mad Rubik's cube skills and assembled the bassinet and swing with no instructions, but the help of Cait and Amy.  Take that Zach!
• Emily's friend Missy bought Emily some slippers, nice shower gel, and an Eyebrow Wax Lady came to the hospital to beautify her.
• Emily's sister was amazing.  While toting twins in her belly (that came out three days after Charlotte) she cooked for us and visited Emily in the hospital whenever she could.  No small feat for a mother of two.
• Ben took those stunning pictures of Charlotte's birth that are priceless to us. 
• Also, one day Emily's work computer crapped out and Ben first brought her one of his old computers so she could stay online in the hospital, and then he took her broken computer to Emily's workplace to get fixed.  No small feat for a father of two with a wife pregnant with twins.
• Emily's friends Rachel and Kate took Emily to lunch.  Just giving Emily a chance to escape the hospital for a few hours is a huge relief to her.
• My employer has been incredibly supportive through all this.  So has Emily's.
• The staff I work with has been great too.  From asking questions and offering to support, to giving gifts, including tea for lactation, molasses to prevent anemia, books for bedrest, and the proverbial "I LOVE MY DADDY SOOOOO MUCH" onesie.
• The Longleys brought us Blizzards and ribs.
• Maureen brought us candy corn and Leann Chin.  
• My sisters and mom are sponsoring a cleaning lady for our house.
• This summer I was coaching a marathon training class and my co-coaches Anne and Marty were very understanding, as was the whole class, the times I had to bail on a practice at the last second.
• Emily's step-mom gave Emily some much needed fresh fruit in the form of honeycrisp apples.
• Zander and Julie brought us a whole homemade dinner (including leftovers that I used for lunch) and the entertainment of their son Jin, of Jin Quote du Jour fame.
• Paul and Karen came to visit and two days later, Charlotte was born.  Karen brought some magazines to make Emily's bedrest more tolerable.  And typical Professor fashion, Paul took a copy of the day's paper from the front desk.
• At least three different moms gave us complete sets of baby clothes that they no longer needed.
• Our friend Heidi had a daughter at 34 weeks and visited Emily to reassure her that things would be okay and told her what to expect.
• Angie brought Emily her favorite State Fair food (now being sold in downtown Minneapolis), World's Greatest Turkey Sandwich.  
• Maureen and Bill brought us Stress Free Crosswords which Emily and I did together quite a bit to pass the time.
• My friend John, whose son was born the same day as Charlotte, gave me a book, The Survival Guide for First Time Dads.  And yes, I need it.
• I run with John, as well as Greg and Nick.  All of us have wives who are expecting or already delivered this fall.  In 16 years we will be one runner away from having a  pretty good co-ed cross country team.
• Emily's friend Kate brought "Cashew Trail Mix" which I call "Devils' Mix."  You eat one bite and you are condemned to eating the whole container because it is THAT good.
• Emily's aunt Nancy then brought another canister of the Devil's Mix upon request.  I first accidentally typed "upon regret."  Which is how you feel after 30 minutes of eating the cashew, M&M, Milk Dud combo.
• Jen was visiting from Grinnell and gave Emily some magazines and homemade pumpkin muffins.
• Emily for being Emily.

The list is impressive in its quality and length.  Here is how I can summarize it the best.  Last Friday was garbage and recycling day.  I always budget an extra ten minutes before leaving on recycling day because you never know what hiccup I may come across as I gather and take out the recycling.  

Well first I went to get the trash bins and push them to the edge of the driveway so the garbage man would take them.  Both bins were empty.  In one week I had accumulated no trash.  

Then I went to get the recycling out of the basement.  None there.  Maybe I already transferred it to the garage.  Nope.  None there either.  In TWO weeks, I had accumulated nothing that needed to be recycled.  

Holy crap.  That just shows you how ungrounded I had become.  "It's upside down and backwards; the foot's on the other shoe," to quote James McMurtry.  And yet I am healthy, eating three square meals a day, and able to  make to the hospital everyday to be with Charlotte and Emily and we know we can finish off getting the house Charlotte Ready.  That last sentence could not be true without the love and support we have received from everyone.  

Charlotte is blessed to be born into such a caring network of family and friends.