This story begins exactly 6 years ago to the date. Erin was due to have our first child any day, but little did we know that on this special Sunday our lives would change forever.
I went to church and Erin decided to stay home as she was experiencing sporadic contractions and was obviously very uncomfortable being in her third trimester. I told her to call me if she needed ANYTHING and I promised to have my phone ON and WITH ME throughout the morning. Unfortunately, I only held up half of that bargain. I did have my phone on all morning, but accidentally left my phone on stage during the sermon.
Sitting down as the sermon began I quickly realized my mistake, but the chances of Erin calling or going into labor during that window were minimal I decided. I had already been at church for a few hours and she had not called yet, so I was sure she was doing fine. Little did I know that she would call more than 10 times during the sermon (I had wisely put my phone on silent so not to cause a disturbance) informing me that she was going into labor. Once the sermon ended I came back on stage and took a glance at my phone during the invitation prayer before our final song. When I saw the long list of calls from Erin's number I knew something was happening and began praying quietly that NO decisions would be made that day (the exact opposite of the pastor's prayer!). I don't remember the closing song from that Sunday, but I am pretty sure it was the fastest closing song that church had ever heard. As soon as the service ended I hit the road and took extreme liberty with the speed limit on my way across the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex daring any officer to pull me over. Thankfully I made it home safely (and without a ticket) to find my father-in-law playing the role of hero while I played the goat. Fortunately, he had stopped by to check on Erin as she went into labor and waited with her until I arrived.
Once there, we quickly packed our bags and headed to the hospital to welcome the arrival of Anderson Monroe Franklin!
I went to church and Erin decided to stay home as she was experiencing sporadic contractions and was obviously very uncomfortable being in her third trimester. I told her to call me if she needed ANYTHING and I promised to have my phone ON and WITH ME throughout the morning. Unfortunately, I only held up half of that bargain. I did have my phone on all morning, but accidentally left my phone on stage during the sermon.
Sitting down as the sermon began I quickly realized my mistake, but the chances of Erin calling or going into labor during that window were minimal I decided. I had already been at church for a few hours and she had not called yet, so I was sure she was doing fine. Little did I know that she would call more than 10 times during the sermon (I had wisely put my phone on silent so not to cause a disturbance) informing me that she was going into labor. Once the sermon ended I came back on stage and took a glance at my phone during the invitation prayer before our final song. When I saw the long list of calls from Erin's number I knew something was happening and began praying quietly that NO decisions would be made that day (the exact opposite of the pastor's prayer!). I don't remember the closing song from that Sunday, but I am pretty sure it was the fastest closing song that church had ever heard. As soon as the service ended I hit the road and took extreme liberty with the speed limit on my way across the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex daring any officer to pull me over. Thankfully I made it home safely (and without a ticket) to find my father-in-law playing the role of hero while I played the goat. Fortunately, he had stopped by to check on Erin as she went into labor and waited with her until I arrived.
Once there, we quickly packed our bags and headed to the hospital to welcome the arrival of Anderson Monroe Franklin!
Happy 6th Birthday Anderson!
2 comments:
Good story! Thanks for sharing and Happy Birthday to Anderson!
Wow! What did you have to do to pay her back for that one, lol? :^) At least he wasn't born until later at night so you had some time once you got to the hospital!
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