A: The night before

There's a line from a Pink Floyd song that seems real appropriate
for our situation this evening. The lyric is simply : "There'll be no
sleep in here tonight".

Our first child is on the way. Well on the way. The little person was
due last Friday (23 May), but s/he must have been comfortable where
they were. Not a peep until earlier this evening when my wife was able
to tell the time by the regularity of her contractions. To alleviate
the pain, she's had a warm bath, dried off, and has fitted a TENS
machine. This is gently zapping her back with mild electric current and
seems to be doing the trick.

To alleviate my mild panic, I would normally have gunned-down a bottle
or two of Adnam's Broadside. But I might have to drive to the hospital,
so I can't. Instead, I've been doing ... well ... this, drinking tea
and putting in some useless pacing and pottering to a background of MTV2
(most recently "Universally Speaking" by the Chillis). Maybe I should
strap the TENS machine onto my head instead ?

This is a very strange feeling - seeing my wife in discomfort, knowing
that it's going to get worse before it gets better, knowing that
there's really stuff-all I can do to help her apart from be there when
she wants me.

Nervous. Excited. Tired. I want Pink Floyd to be wrong.