Anticipation

I cannot decide why I liked the commercial so much.
Was it the song that played in the background?
Was it the item that was being advertised?
Was it the premise that the commercial was trying to convey?

The commercial was advertising ketchup.
The song was sung by Carly Simon.
The premise was that the ketchup took too long to fall from the bottle onto the hamburger.
Anticipation was the theme.

Boy, your ketchup’s slow, one little boy says to another.
The other little boy cannot understand why the mother of the other little boy doesn’t buy Heinz.
Why should she? The first little boys asks.
Wait till you taste it, the other boy says with excitement.

The audience watches the thick Heinz ketchup fall slowly onto the hamburger.
It is swirled beautifully, covering the entire burger.
The little boy takes a bite with a smile on his face.
The taste that’s worth the wait, is the tag line.

Anticipation can describe our family right about now.
We are all anxiously waiting for a baby to be born.
It is the first child of my son and his wife.
It is our second grandchild.

This precious little baby is making us wait a bit.
The due date has come and gone.
Only one member of our family still has a guess that could be correct.
We wait, we pray, we anticipate the little one who is already part of our family.

As hard as it is for all of us to wait, it is harder on my son and daughter-in-love.
She is so tiny and petite and carries the baby all out in front of her.
She is ready to deliver any time now.
If truth be told, she has been ready for a while.

I remember carrying my children.
I remember when the baby feels as if he/she was at my knees and could not get any lower.
I remember getting out of bed or bending down to pick something up off the floor.
I remember that no position was comfortable when I was trying to sleep.

My son and daughter-in-love have been nesting.
They always keep a lovely home.
They have been doing many extra things ahead of time in preparation for the baby.
It gives them a sense of accomplishment as they wait.

Being in God’s waiting room is hard.
Delivering the baby is the focus.
However, they have no say on when that will happen.
Only God knows the exact day and hour.

This baby is loved already.
This baby is part of our family already.
Aunts and uncles are jockeying for position as the baby’s favorite.
All of that is done in good fun.

It is one thing for a family to anticipate a baby’s birth.
It is quite another when other people are invested in the baby as well.
My son and daughter-in-love experienced that the other day.
Two sweet little boys who live next door are anxiously waiting for their baby to be born.

My daughter-in-love sent a picture to all of us.
It was a view of their patio from their kitchen door.
The little boys drew chalk pictures for the baby on their patio and walkway.
They wrote the name of my daughter-in-love; they drew tic-tac-toe games, stars, and a flower.

It was not what they drew as much as the fact that they drew it in the first place.
This baby is a real person to them.
This baby just happens to be in her belly right now.
The baby will come out soon and when he/she does, they are ready.

It was the sweetest gift.
It was a gift for a little one that they cannot wait to meet.
Waiting is hard.
Waiting is hard especially when so many people care.