Tap-tap
Started: 2015-03-29 20:57:19
Submitted: 2015-03-29 21:06:35
Visibility: World-readable
In which the intrepid narrator contemplates the impending birth of his second son
This ski season, I developed a simple ritual that I perform before I drop into a difficult run: I tap the side of my ski helmet with the handle of the ski pole in my right hand, twice, for luck. It's my signal that I'm about to do something scary and difficult and demanding, but it's something that I've done before and I know I can do it and that it'll all be worth it in the end.
Tonight I'm standing at the edge of a different sort of precipice, as I plan to wake up at oh-dark-thirty tomorrow morning to attend the birth of my second son. If all goes well, less than twelve hours from now, I'll hold a screaming newborn in my arms whom I'll name Julian. I've done this before, six years ago, so I think I can do it again. So I'm going to reach up and tap the side of my helmet, twice, for luck, then drop in.
