Waiting... Soon to be over!

After years of dilemma we finally took a call leading up to the nine month wait that is all set to culminate soon! Now that the D –day is set…and the wait is over….we are finally here. Frankly…I don’t mind the wait as I know what to expect when it is over and not exactly looking forward to the initial drudgery!:-) Though it appears as if we are more prepared than we were with our first one…..there seem to be more butterflies in my tummy now than the first time around. More so, with my older one who is at a transitional age and is being over-sensitive to the fact that these are his last couple of days as the only child and things are going to change….for life! Well…..he is not happy that he won’t be around the new baby as soon as it is born or as much as he wants…as the hospital has strict policy against admitting children below the age of twelve. Abhay believes that as an older brother…it is his birth right to be the first one to hold the newborn and is all set to play with the newborn! I can’t blame him as  I too have already been thinking of all the books that we can revisit and relive my childhood once again …. So it’s probably time for two stories a day….??? J

As a final read before I take a break post the new arrival…..we read the very charming “Waiting for Gregory” by Kimberly Willis Holt and paintings by Gabi Swiatkowska. A young Iris is excited as she is soon going to have a cousin brother to be named Gregory. But when exactly is Gregory going to be born? Each person from her daddy to wise old Mr.Connor gives her a different answer. While her father’s rather cryptic answer “ Soon …but not too soon”,  her grandmother’s belief that it will be when the cabbage in the garden is large enough to make soup for everyone and her friend’s rather confidant declaration that Gregory will arrive when her aunt’s belly is as big as a Jack-O-lantern….all this leaves her confused until her mother assures her that everyone is a little bit right. But Iris cannot wait any longer …she wants to be able to show Gregory how to make a snow angel but the last snowfall melts…..she wants to show him how to swim, but summer vacation ends and swimming pool closes. Finally autumn arrives and so does Gregory. As they prepare to visit Gregory, Iris’s excitement knows no bounds and she can’t wait to teach him how to fish… build the biggest snowman, or show him how to roll down the hill… only to find that little Gregory may be bigger than a huge cabbage but he is still too tiny to do all the things she had planned. Though Iris is disappointed that she has to wait longer, she realizes there are a lot many things she can do ….like push him in a stroller, play peek-a-boo and sing him her favourite songs. Soon, but not too soon Gregory will be waiting for her. The story is aided by spectacular water colour illustrations that transport the reader to an Elizabethan like time frame which forms the backdrop to this delightful masterpiece.

So here we are waiting for our little Gregory (boy or girl) who may be too small to play with its older sibling or for all the books we want to read. But here’s to looking forward to revisiting for the second time …the first moments of joy …hopefully this time with double excitement as we’ll reliving those moments through the eyes of my elder one!