2 weeks and counting...

Woooooooo! Two weeks and counting my fellow Jabber Loggers! Yesterday made the birth of my daughter more of a reality. My wife and I had to meet with one of the advisors of the hospital in order to pre-register so that we did not have to do it when my wife goes into labor. The hospital is very nice and it's pretty peaceful as well. I'm sure it won't be all that peaceful when my wife is crushing my hand while dealing with a killer contraction but oh well. I helped make the child so I might as well take some pain as well right? We sat in the office with the advisor and we enjoyed some small talk but we quickly moved on to the good stuff. Let's register and get to know everyone by asking somewhat awkward questions. "So Ricardo, I see you're a 911 dispatcher."

"Yep, that's correct."

"Oh, that sounds like a very interesting job."

"Why yes it is."

The advisor stared at me for a moment, smiled and nodded her head. I was baffled. I smiled back and nodded my head as well.

"I bet you've heard it all huh? The job sounds unpredictable."

"That it is, that it is."

There were long pauses and I usually don't talk about all of my calls because I have taken some horrifying ones. If you don't believe me, click on the right side for "Within the Trenches" and you can read a few bad ones. So after a few awkward pauses we moved on. I wasn't trying to be a jerk to her. I was just saving her mind from thinking too much about any bad call I brought up. We moved on to allergies in the family and past medical history. It was the normal routine crap but what threw me for a loop was when she asked about our race/ethnicity.

"So I see that you're both white but do either of you have anything else mixed in there?"

I chuckled for a moment. I glanced over at my wife and then smiled. I slowly turned toward the advisor and my smile grew. Imagine the scene in the animated version of, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" when his smile starts out small and then grows beyond belief.

"Um...well I'm actually 100% Mexican."

"Oh!" She turned red for a moment. "Well, I thought you might be mixed because your name is Ricardo but..."

My wife and I laughed. I took no offense at all by her comment. It takes a lot to upset me and I have an open mind and an excellent sense of humor.

I laughed and said, "It's cool. I am slightly lighter than most Mexicans and I have no accent." I made sure to say all of this in my best announcer voice and we all shared a nice laugh about it. Then the advisor asked another question and I almost lost it!

"So Rebecca, I know Ricardo is full Mexican but do you have any Mexican in you?"

I let out a chuckle and I bit my tongue. Seeing how she was pregnant I could have busted out several cracks but I held back. I glanced at my wife and she gave me the, "Don't you dare joke right now" look. I'm sure she would have laughed but I let it go. The registration ended with a tour of the birthing center and I was impressed. The best part, for my wife that is, was that she may have a room with a jacuzzi. Now from what I saw, it looked pretty sweet. Are there any mom's out there that had a chance to use one? If so, let me know what you thought about it. There is just a short time left and Lola Mae is on her way and I'm stoked! Can't wait to meet you baby girl!