I was ready, as I always am, when my mother called me up. “We’ve brought your sister to the hospital and I think it’s time for the baby to come. We’ll know for sure soon. I’ll let you know so you can leave for Multan”. I’m usually a very logical person who likes to take steps through meticulously thought-out plans. 15 minutes later, my mother called me again “Okay, they’re going to deliver the baby today. You should leave for Multan”. As my mother hung up the call, I cancelled my registration for the Pakistan vs Australia test (cricket) match. I had long desired to watch Steven Smith play live. But I guess Birdperson had other plans; he had decided to pop out 10 days early.
Anywho, I left for Multan, completely ready. I knew I’d have to be on hospital duty. That meant a lot of floors up & down, running to the market and what not. But as I said, I was ready. I’m a logical person. As I reached Multan, my father picked me up from home and we went straight to the hospital. My sister met me and then they went straight to the OT. My parents and I stood outside. About 30 minutes or so later, the doctor arrived with the news “Mubarak ho, Beta hua hai”. We had already known the sex of the baby. I had also named him Birdperson in honour of Rick Sanchez’ best friend.
The initial high of happiness had now faded in the background. I knew this was just the start. I was tired, yes, with all the travelling and all but that’s what I was there for. I knew there would be a lot more work coming my way as my sister would be in the hospital 2 more days, at the very least. In my head, I was planning where I’d sleep at the following nights given that there would be guests coming to our house to meet Birdperson. I was drowned in my thoughts when the nurse came in and said “you can now come and see the baby”. My mother and father beat me to getting up from the couch like I was the 60 year old and they were both 20. I followed them slowly. I knew there’d be a boy in the crib inside the nursery. I did not understand the rush my parents were in.
As I reached for the handle and peeked inside, I lost a sense of my surroundings. I saw 2 barely open eyes attached to a head which was in turn attached to a body with some wires emanating from it. I went numb. Things went slow motion. I couldn’t hear anything, I couldn’t feel anything, I couldn’t think anything. All I could do was see. I knew there would be a baby in the crib but I did not know THERE WOULD BE A BABY IN THE CRIB. Where on earth did it come from? I mean, how could it be that there was nothing merely an hour ago and now, all of a sudden, here he was; Birdperson. I understood the logic of it but I did not understand the logic of it; I was ready for nothing. Nothing I have ever experienced has been quite as surreal as the moment I first laid my eyes on Birdperson was.
From that very moment onward, I knew that logic would never be relevant when it came to my affection and love for Birdperson. This was 15th March, 2022. Today, Birdperson, or as his parents call him, Ibrahim, is about 5 months and 6 days old. My love for him has only increased infinitesimally every single day. It seems like everything he does, the way he sleeps, the way he blinks, the way he cries makes me love him even more. Now I have a million memories with him already. Our staring contest from when he was 1 day old, or the first time he responded to me and so many more that I can’t describe for the sake of this blog’s length.
And yes, I have already made 100s of plans with him. What we’ll do when he turns 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15 and so on. I just can’t wait for Birdperson’s years ahead….
