What is wrong with us?

What's happened to the art of waiting in this country?

There is very little we can't control and schedule these days.  Smart phones keep us connected at all times and tie us down by synching our work with our home with our friends' calendars.  You can buy a plane ticket at the spur of the moment and fly anywhere on earth you want. Many of us can work whenever from wherever we please.  You can even choose your baby's birth date.

Here, you're expected to be prompt, or at least to call ahead if you can't make it on time.  This is probably the reason why several days BEFORE her due date, people started continually asked me "did you have the baby yet?"!

I'm officially three days overdue and get daily questions about why I'm "still around".  It's super-sweet and I'm glad people are excited about the baby, but I can't help but wonder why everyone is so perplexed that she hasn't arrived on a phantom, magical date based solely on a formula set-up to be the average gestation time for billions of mothers.

It's both frustrating and refreshing to realize that we, as humans, don't really have control over every aspect of nature.  This is a lesson you'll learn if you travel to more laid-back countries like Spain or Tanzania.  They understand the famous bumper sticker from Forrest Gump, and go about their daily lives knowing that people and events will come and go on their own time.  No use rigidly scheduling your entire life because "sh*t happens".

I love the fact that the best surprises of my life have come up without being planned and scheduled.  I never planned to go work in Tanzania, but was just in the right place at the right time.  When I started dating Nathan, he was going to be a boring engineer (like me!) and suddenly did a complete 360, taking us on an amazing adventure, living in National Parks and introducing me to the joys of 16-mile day hikes through unspoiled wilderness.  I had a general idea of what I wanted to do with my life, but these surprises have only enriched it and in many ways have shaped my view of what I want in the future.  At the same time they've made me realize that my most important asset is my flexibility and adaptability.

So, I ask society, what's the rush?  Why should I feel like this baby will "never" arrive if she's one day late?  It's a day, a week, it's not the end of the world.  Why should I be rushed to schedule an induction based on a date that is at best a wild guess?  I trust nature, she'll get here, and I like knowing the "when" is a surprise.