ELAINA GABRIELLE IS HERE!

Yes, on Monday at 10:56AM, our second child was born. 8 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long. A more detailed diary of the day will be coming soon.

Down to the Wire on Both Fronts

Here I am typing this on Sunday morning as my 2 year old sleeps and I'm torn.

Last night, the Indians lost game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) 12 to 2 and honestly, it was over after the first inning. Also, we (my wife and I) are inside 24 hours until her scheduled C-Section. Suffice it to say, I'm a little shaky right about now.

Back to the ALCS. I thought if the Tribe didn't win this thing at home in game 5, the series was over for a variety of reasons. The main one being 40+ year old Curt Schilling lives for pressure situations and the other is that in the pressure-cooker environment of Fenway Park, the Indians' lineup would be less patient. All of this has happened. Carmona, the Indians' starter walked a bunch of guys and surrendered a grand slam in the 1st inning. By the third, it was 8 to 1 and I went to bed. Now in game 7, each team pulls out all of the stops. Starting pitchers become relievers, the popcorn vendor might have to pinch-run if need be. The Indians will lose tonight and I'll be once again, looking at the World Series from the outside realizing that will have been almost 60 years since they won the Series. You can see why I'm a bit shakey--maybe uneasy is a better descriptor. So let the snow fall...for me, summer is over.

Now the main reason why I am skakey. Tomorrow morning at this time, my wife and I will be at the hospital prepping for her C-Section surgery. Its like the day or night before a final exam. The butterflies are relentless, you can't eat and nothing can ramp down your gitters. Except this time, I have a headache. This is nothing compared to my wife whose mid-section is stretched beyond capacity, her carpultunnel problems aren't getting better and she is more nervous than me. Its hard to fathom that in a few days, we will have ANOTHER child to take care of. Like with everything, you just do it and in retrospect years later, you'll ask yourself, "How did we do that?"

Unknown newborn pic I found on the web. No relation.

So you see that my nervousness is coming from multiple directions today. The ballgame pails in comparison to the birth of my second child but its still, as my dad would say, "a psychosocial stressor regardless.".

At least tonight, I will have some resolution on the baseball front. And 11 hours after that, my daughter will be born and all will be good in the world...until those late night feedings.