Tonight, my home is warm with the aroma of curry and waiting blankets of joy. Mause and I welcome the cold weather for the opportunity to wrap up in fleecy snuggles. All I want to do is burrow. Waiting is hard.
There was no indication of how hard waiting for a grandbaby would be. After all, I experienced waiting for the arrival of my own three. I’ve waited for October 31 since we found out our surprise in April.
Halloween has come and gone, and no Boo.
My DIL is courageous and has strength. She went to the birthing center with my son early yesterday morning and has been there ever since. And no Boo, yet. The waiting yesterday nearly consumed me. Intellectually, I know the journey is hers, her child’s, my son’s, but waiting feels like getting run over by a driverless Tesla the size of a tank.
Argh! I crave news: I crave completion; I crave my grandchild here happy and well, born to healthy happy parents. Did I not understand the risks as a pregnant woman? I see risks everywhere in this waiting. I feel their exhaustion, worry it like a beach pebble in my pocket, and…wait.
As you can imagine, I’m not up to the task of telling you about my first module in DreamTending and Deep Imagination, yet. You’ll have to wait on the profound revelations Dreaming has for creative writing. So much to tell you. So much has been in transition this year, and right now, the portal is opening. If this were a movie, perhaps the music would change in quality, the camera pan out or zoom in, and then the scene would cut to the next. Voila — no waiting.
But tonight, I still wait. I’m going to curl up with Mause and a bowl of curry under a blanket of joy (I can’t wait to share blankets as a grandmum). Send Leah, Kyle, and Baby Boo good, welcoming, loving thoughts, intentions, and prayers. We are a Ranch community in waiting tonight.
November 7, 2023, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about waiting. Where does this waiting take place? Does it have a past or a future outcome? Who is waiting and why? Go where the prompt leads!
- Submit by November 13, 2023. Please use the form below if you want to be published in the weekly collection. The Collection publishes on the Thursday following the next Challenge. Stories must be 99 words. Rules & Guidelines.
- Writers retain all copyrights to any stories published at Carrot Ranch.
- A website or social media presence is not required to submit. A blog or social media link will be included in the title of any story submitted with one.
- Please include your byline with your title on one line. Example: Little Calves by Charli Mills. Your byline can be different from your name.
- Please include the hashtag #99WordStories when sharing either the Challenge or Collection posts on social media.
AT LAST, THE WAITING IS OVER!
Welcome, Regis Elle Hauck-Mills! Our precious granddaughter! We traveled to the Baraboo Hills of Wisconsin to meet you and we are so in love! Waiting to become grandparents wasn’t easy but worth the wait. You are so precious to us! A new journey begins.
Waiting game can be so loooong 😛 Sigh!!
Prayers and speedy and healthy vibes coming your family way.
Love n Light!
Prayers for comfort, peace, and health for all. With my first child, I was in the hospital for three days before I finally had a C-section! I know how waiting for a birth can be!😵💫❤️
You are not waiting alone. Though I know it feels like it.
Snuggle under the blankets of joy with a warm Mouse for company.
We are cruising and I am writing the experience, the emotions, and a brand new feeling of joy that comes with daily tears of happiness. And when I offered to write an article to the cruise line, they weren’t sure why they would want such a thing. Oh my!!!
Waiting is hard. Here’s hoping it comes to a joyful conclusion soon.
My WIP is about waiting so I guess I’ll find inspiration for my 99 words there.
I’m so excited for you!! I often have to make myself be patient by picturing where I’ll be at that same time the next day. I hope all goes well for them!
Oh, bless you, I can feel the agitation. Hopefully by now the little one is here and all are healthy. You can tell about the dreams in your own time.
waiting for the arrival of a baby is one of the worst kinds of waiting…
Waiting is difficult, and when it’s out of our control, it’s even worse. I hope the birth is uncomplicated and you have happy news soon. Can’t wait to share in the joy. Snuggle up. Feel the love.
Dear Charli and all…
Babies will arrive on their own – We had a friend, all four of her children were more or less a month late, and born healthy. Good thoughts to you and all. Waiting is not easy. I have a memory that is about 25 years old about waiting… (((Hugs))) to you.
Vigilance
Vigilance
It is a strange phenomenon to board a plane by oneself. Normally not a solo traveler. So much hurry up and waiting while attempting to quickly get to the end of a destination. Especially when where you’re going is not to some sunny beach. But to a hospital; the deplaning, cab ride to, entry, all forgotten as the vision of your loved one lays silent. Unresponsive to your presence.
You want to lose yourself in suspended time reliving good memories. A sated family reunion. yet there cries the newest haloed member.
so precious
all life old and new
angelic…
© JP/dh
Waiting is hard but it can also be exciting! Hopefully you’ll not have to wait much longer, Charli! Best wishes!
Charli,
When I first found out that my son and his wife were expecting their first child (and finally in the hospital), I wrote this haiku.
labor pains…
awaiting
the call
~Nancy Brady, 2018
I hope you don’t have to wait too long for the news.
The waiting is over! These pictures show how deeply loved she is. (And that she’s some cute.) Congratulations to Leah and Kyle and to their parents. Little Regis Elle Hauck-Mills is among good people.
Such a precious bundle!
Congratulations!🥳 She is beautiful.🥰
So cool; swaddled in love!
So worth the wait! Squee!!!
How precious! I got all teary-eyed reading this amazing news. Congratulations to you all. xoxo
Congratulations!!! 💝💝💝
Absolutely gorgeous! Perfect little angel! Our grandbabies are going to be 2 months apart!! My grandson; Fernando James Trujillo Miller III is due on January 5th, 2024. My first one! I’m dabbling with children’s stories a little, I’d like to possibly write a series of some kind. Congratulations Grandma!
Congratulations! How gorgeous!
WONDERFUL, any way you look at it.