Iggy Pop

When I was pregnant with Sophie, Ygal called us pretty early in the pregnancy and said he'd like to visit right around the time of the due date.  He wanted to be there for the big arrival.  Alain and I were both touched by this but worried about the timing and that he might miss out if the baby decided to come early or late.  Being so far away, Ygal had to make a decision and buy his ticket early. A last-minute ticket from Switzerland can set you back for a long time!  Against our advice to wait and arrive about a week after our due date, he made the decision to come for two weeks ~ one week before my due date and one week after.

I took this photo during that visit.  Every time I walked in the room with my bulging belly, he'd look up quickly and ask, "Is it happening? Is it time?".  In the photo above, I caught him just as he looked up at me to ask those very questions.

As some of you know and as others might have guessed, he missed the birth.  Ygal and Bianca left on their flight back to Switzerland with nary a contraction in sight.  As fate would have it, I went into labor about 24 hours later.

Even though Ygal wasn't in town for the actual birth, I will always feel very touched by that visit and how badly he wanted to be there for the birth of his first niece/nephew (we didn't know the baby's gender beforehand).  Once again, this example shows Iggy's commitment to his family and his desire to be a central part.  I relay this story to friends and family fairly regularly so my weekly posts wouldn't seem complete without telling it here.  

It's also nice to think about Sophie reading this post one day in the future and being reminded how very much her Tio wanted to be there when she was born.