Final 55 Minutes of my Youth.

God gives us lot of occasions to feel exited and happy. Each stage of a person’s life is an excitement. The day you join School, see your first movie, play your first torunament, bunk your first class, go to first date, this list goes on…..

One such occasion has just arrived in my life. The day began with a knock on the door at 5:30 AM, with a nurse calling us to get ready. Things moved pretty fast, within no time it is 7:30 and everyone is ready. I saw my wife for one last time before she entered the next phase of her life. She was not prepared for things to happen in the next hour [Ceserian], but was eagerly awaiting her new birth as a mother. She was moved into the Operation Theatre at 7:45 AM.

Suspense and tension began. Going towards the theatre every 2 minutes, I was eagerly waiting to hear any sound. Ideas started pounding my head, Whoz it going to be? I always wanted a beautiful angel walking in my house and my wife wanted to see a naughty kid spoiling all her belongings. One fine day, things have reversed; she started dreaming for an angel and I want to see a naughty kid in my house. So both of us were eagerly waiting for the result.

Without my knowledge I moved in the corridor innumerable times. Around 8:10 AM, there was some sound from the theatre; I kept my ear very close to the theatre for almost 10 minutes to hear it one more time. I was praying God “Please just one more time”. Have I ever prayed like this before, I seriously doubt. After having waited a long time like this, I thought it wouldn’t be of any use standing like that, So, I started walking back in the corridor. Moments passed, minutes passed, still no response from inside. Slowly people started coming out of the theatre, but no one is generous enough to talk to me. For a moment I thought of killing somebody there for keeping me so tensed. This just looked like an old hindi movie scene, "everyone coming out, no body speaking". God, I want to know who it is!!!!
I looked at the time, and to my surprise it's already 9:05 AM. I have heard the voice 55 minutes back and still there is no sign of any one telling me the truth. I was very eager to run into the OT to find out who it was. Finally, a nurse came out asking me did you see your daughter. Gosh, finally a girl. I was eagerly waiting out to see my kid and you ask me "Do you want to?" You got to be Nuts…

Final 55 minutes of My Youth have been tremendous. Time has never been my enemy till this date, but for the last 55 minutes, I was fighting the greatest battle of my life. This assault has taken all my strength out, but as the saying goes ‘The Hardships of the journey should never disturb the beauty of the destination”, the pain in waiting is completely overshadowed by the feeling of a New Life.

My Mind has mastered this act now, and from nowhere its now cluttered with plethora of thoughts ranging from ‘how to act on my first glance’ to ‘how to behave in his/her adolescence’. Answers for most of them are unknown right now, but a vacant mind can never stay idle. After having waited 55 minutes like this after hearing my kid’s voice, I was so angry on the nurses for not showing, but I have never expected that I would be facing with one of the dumbest questions in this world.

Looking at 2.4Kgs Angel before me, I had no bounds for my happiness. Few drops of water are not difficult to find your eyes in such an occasion and I am no exception. Umbilical chord was still not removed completely. I felt bad that she would be feeling the pain.

People used to say that this feeling would be unexplainable and now I understand why. You want to hold her immediately, but you are doubtful that you might not hold her properly. You want to kiss her immediately, but skeptical that she might get a rash on her face. Things like this just come and go in your thoughts. You might want to do a hell lot of things, and you will not be in a position to do any of those and that really hurts. I had to wait two days to kiss my angel and that was a very long time.

From now on all my friends would call me Uncle. [This is what they used to tell me; once you have a child, you are no more young]. I am not embarrassed but proud to be called so. Technically I was Uncle 55 minutes back. But only now I have realized this.