“In the “Family Way””

Abbreviated update on the status of our burgeoning family…

• Shannon (the mother-to-be) called me Monday night, just as we were leaving Gary's & Ellyn's, to ask if Corinne and I would take her to the doctor on Tuesday. (Asking us for help is a huge step in the right direction.)

• We took them (her husband Mike went, too) to the doctor. Then to the hospital. Waited for hours in a mostly-empty emergency room, but what the doctor thought was kidney or gall stones turned out to be a minor infection and a pulled muscle.

• At dinner, had some "straight talk" with Mike. Clearly depressed and resigned. They got into this situation through a combination of bad circumstances and bad decisions, and he feels the responsibility. I hope the judge is lenient, and will write to him soon to say as much, but we're preparing for the worst (ie, two years).

• They're living with friends, but haven't had much of anything to eat lately because none of them have jobs and they all live on food stamps. (Try getting a job when you're homeless and 'going away' soon...).

• While still a little wary and cautious, I'm starting to understand them. With understanding comes trust (a form of it, anyway). I'm also, definitely, starting to care for them both as people.

• After we return from MacWorld, we're bringing them over here at least for dinner.

• Sentencing is January twenty-something.

• The baby is due early March.

• No, Daniel, having a baby in the house won't prevent me from taking a day to go for a bike ride with a friend I've never met. Of this I'm quite sure. There will of course be sacrifices, but nothing so drastic. ;-)

For more details and better prose, see Corinne's update.