Happy 10th Birthday Abbey ! Every day a blessing !

     I don't recall exactly how far along Alice was when we found out we were having a girl.  This was a very traumatic day in my life.  Like any expectant couple, all we wanted was a healthy child.  That being said, I had no idea how badly I wanted a son until I was told that we were having a girl.  I put on the "happy face" as if it didn't matter to me,..oh, but it did.  When we returned home, I remember going out to cut the grass, I needed a little space to clear my head. I literally had tears in my eyes, I was that upset.  All my dreams of having a son, taking him to ballgames, going on fishing trips, watching him play high-school sports were being crushed by a giant pink Barbie house !
     The disappointment would eventually wane as the day approached when I would become a Daddy.  As Alice's belly continued to grow, so did my apprehension over the fact that we were ACTUALLY going to have a baby!  The sex of the child was no longer an issue, please let the baby be healthy !
     Minutes before witnessing the birth of our child, I remember the doctor asking "Are you ok?".  I said " I think I'll be ok, I'm just feeling a bit faint, I really don't have the strongest stomach for this sort of thing".  The doctor replied "I wasn't talking to YOU, but maybe you'd better sit down then". Moments later, my life changed forever. At 8:29pm, November 13th, 2002, we would from this point forward be referred to as Abigail Louise Wagener's parents.  A noble title indeed.  Anybody who has ever been in the delivery room knows what goes on next. The ceremonial counting.  Ten fingers...CHECK.  Ten Toes...CHECK.  I now gaze up towards her face, and all of a sudden, the world seemed to stop.  Dear God, her head is shaped like a FOOTBALL ! In what was surely just a nano-second, I had 50 thoughts racing through my mind.  What should I tell Alice if she asks me what she looks like??  Should I lie to her, surely she will find out eventually.  Will I still love her, even though she has a football head??..of course I will, right?? Will she need a special hairstyle to hide this football head??  Will she ever find love?? a husband?? with this football head?  Should I grab her from the nurse and try to re-shape her head as if it was made of play-dough, before it hardens and stays that way forever?  The nurse couldn't put that little knit hat on her head fast enough to suit me, I just didn't know what to think.
     Of course I come to find out that this is "normal" in non C-section deliveries, It may have been nice to have been WARNED about this little temporary condition before all the crazy thoughts raced through my head!
     Needless to say, Abbey's head is just fine, much to Abbey's Daddy's relief !  So the son I never had, turned into the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I remember going into restaurants to have coffee while at work, always carrying a pile of pictures of Abbey with me.  I would shamelessly put them out on the table, baiting any passer-by to ask me if this was my daughter.  And if that didn't work, I would move them closer to the edge, because, maybe they didn't notice them. If these brilliant moves were coming up empty, I would go with the accidental knocking of the pile on the floor as they were walking by.  I was VERY persistent, only because I was VERY proud.  
     Sure, there are days when I wish she enjoyed fishing more, or wanted to sit down a watch a ballgame with me, but I wouldn't trade her for anything.  She has brought me so much happiness and so many proud moments in her 10 years, that you would just never understand......unless you too, are a parent !