Water breaking. A tale of Water, water and babies.
Just yesterday, I was out for a run and mulling how on earth to fix my song Water Under The Bridge. The night before, engineer Jaime Durr had sent over a first pass at a mix for the latest arrangement of the song, and I knew immediately it wasn’t right. What I didn’t know was why. Eryn’s vocal was brilliant, Tim’s guitar work swampy and rocking, Andy’s drums properly thumpy and Sam’s bass McCartney-esque in its groove and melody. And yet...
As I ran, I was crestfallen and confused. The song, rewritten and re-recorded for the third time, was still wrong. As I reached the point on my run at which I turn around and start heading home, my phone rang. (I know, who the hell runs with his phone? I started doing it after I had my brain injury as a emergency precaution in case of a fall, and now I do it because it gives me something to read afterwards as I cool down). I looked down at the number and didn’t recognize it but figured it might be a client I had just done some freelance for so I answered. “It’s Emily,” said the voice on the other end. I knew right away it was Catherine’s boss, but still, being a DENSE, I did not surmise what might be happening. Emily got right to it and explained that Catherine’s water had just broke and that she would be driving Catherine home from the office NOW. Honestly, I was so stunned I don’t think I sounded very surprised, but I was. I s-p-r-i-n-t-e-d home (hey, it was a few miles!). I arrived back at the apartment just as Emily and Catherine were pulling up. A frantic bit of packing and showering and organizing ensued -- made much easier by the calm, cool, collective presence of Emily -- our doula arrived, confirmed that it was time to head to the hospital and off we went.
And here we sit, Catherine, her mom and I, all waiting for labor to begin, but hoping it waits a bit, as the babies are a bit pre-mature. The hospital staff is hoping for two more days before anything happens, but if labor does start, they won’t stop it. They know what to do and everything will be fine. I wish I could say the same thing for my song, but right now, it’s not exactly top of mind.