"ARE YOU READY????"

Our baby ticker says 28 days.

Oh My Stars...I remember when it said 228 days!

And everyone asks "are you ready???"
I have no clue what "ready" means.

If it means that the nursery should be done. Then, yes! it's been done for weeks.
It's packed to the gills with multi-colored onesies for all ages, books, diapers, wipes, night lights, musical mobiles, a crib, a dresser, wooden children's clothes hangers (no wire hangers!!!), formula, bottles, some wonderfully over-the-top items like two of the cutest Neiman Marcus dresses ever, a pair of fabulous pink Stuart Weitzman baby shoes, the list of stuff goes on.

Car seat. Check.

Stroller. Check.

Read the baby book.  OK, I'm halfway done. 

Newborn care classes. Check.

Four baby showers (!!!). Check.

A freezer full of breast milk. Check.

A last-minute, fun-filled, crazy, stay-up-til-all-hours-of-the-night-vacation-with-friends. Check.

Are we ready??  I guess we are.  I mean, we have the stuff! You know, that stuff that everyone says you need?

We got it. Tons of it. 
In fact, we may have to change her outfits hourly for the first few days so she gets some time in each of them.

We also have gift cards just in the rare case that we don't have enough stuff.

Someone gave us a $300 spa certificate.  Think we'll need it in about three months?  Yup, I'm banking on it.

Someone also gave us a dozen baby-sitting coupons.  Think we'll need them? Ummmm, I'd bet my LIFE on it!

Another gift was from my sister-in-law...hundreds of dollars of restaurant gift cards for take-out with a note that said, "When the tough get going, the tough get take-out!"  I laughed.  And then I cried.  Well, I didn't really cry, but I thought, oh SH*T, this is it!  The moment we've been waiting for. It's 28 days away!  Oh no, are we ready??????????

And then it hit me.  We are so not ready.
We are so not ready to hit the jackpot. To win the baby lottery. We are so not ready to experience that never-to-be-forgotten-day, when we meet our little girl, the cute and cuddly one, that poops, and spits up, and keeps us up all hours of the night, but will warm our hearts forever...the one that we've been waiting to hold in our arms for what seems like a lifetime.   WE ARE SO NOT READY FOR THIS.  What was I thinking???

But then I kept thinking (thank God), and it dawned on me -- maybe, just maybe, actually BEING unprepared is the most exciting part that comes at the end of this whole journey toward becoming fathers?

-The surprise of our reactions when that proverbial light is finally reached at the end of the tunnel.

-What will our eyes actually DO when they are upon this beautiful prize?

-Will our hearts burst with so much love for her the moment we meet?

Oh, the anticipation and all of the reactions are too much to ponder as we close in on this big leap in to parenthood.  And while I have been feeling a little uneasy about all the things that have to be done before she arrives, I have to say I am now looking forward to being unprepared for that big day.
In fact, it is likely to be the proudest under-prepared moment of my life.  
I think we're ready.