Best Christmas Present Ever!

Okay, the second best. The Very Best is the Child born in the manger.

But the second best is another Christmas child, born 3 weeks ago, and who, this coming Tuesday, is going to become my daughter's son. And Sydney's brother. And my grandson.

She was at Target this afternoon shopping when the adoption agency rang her on her cell phone, and she burst into tears.

We don't know anything about him except that he's 3 weeks old, healthy, and of African-American descent. Oh, and he's a preemie, therefore tiny.

Erin and Jeff don't even have any idea what they will name him. "All I can tell you," I said, "is what NOT to name him. Don't name him Egbert or Ethelbert or Nero or Moriarty. And probably you should avoid Oswald and Adolph."

"And we just ordered our Christmas cards!" says Erin, "With a picture of our family on the front, and now it's obsolete already!"

They are to meet the baby on Monday, together with his foster parents, who will fill them in on the child's schedules and health records and every sort of information Erin and Jeff could want. Then they are to bring him home on Tuesday.

The birth parents chose Erin and Jeff from the agency's website, which has pictures and blurbs of prospective parents. They have already signed all the legal papers and the waiting period for changing their minds has already expired. They have declined to meet Erin and Jeff.

Jeff has a business trip scheduled for Tuesday, immediately after the baby is turned over to them. He is going to see if he can cancel it.

I'll go down to North Carolina Sunday evening, and be there to help in any case.

"And we have plane tickets to Minnesota the 22nd!" says Erin. "Do I have to call the airline and tell them there will be a 4th person?" Yes.

They are spending Christmas with Jeff's family. His mother has already begun scrounging and borrowing baby things.

"I don't even have any boy baby clothes!" said Erin.

"We'll go shopping Monday night and get some," I told her.

"I dont' even remember what all I'm going to have to pack!"

"You'll pack a few changes of clothes, a couple of bottles and formula, and enough diapers to get you there, and then you'll buy more diapers and more formula when you get there."

I'll bet Nancy (Jeff's mom) will also organize a hasty baby shower. That's the sort of thing she loves to do and is so very good at.

"I don't even remember how to take care of a baby at home."

"You're a newborn baby nurse, for heaven's sake! You know better than anybody!"

"In the hospital. That's different. The baby screams and screams and nothing can make it stop, but you know you're getting off at eleven o'clock and you can go home. Having a baby at home is different!"

"It'll all come back to you."

"Are you going to start knitting tonight?"

No, dear, tomorrow. I never really thought about it, but of the 5 preemie blankets I've knitted recently, only one is for a boy, and it's a lightweight blanket, a summer blanket, useless in Minnesota. Well, I can remedy that in a jiffy.

A NEW BABY FOR CHRISTMAS!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!