Today

Today I....

...prayed that it would be busy and the Lord came through
...massaged a mama into a deep enough sleep to produce drool...twice
...straddled a lake of amniotic fluid to give a good back rub
...hummed a hymn to a mama during a really difficult contraction
...smeared meconium all over my arm
....held and swayed with a mama who was so tired, she could barely stand
...squat-peed in the staff toilet and used toilet paper that was stashed in my bra
...helped two babies latch on and nurse for the first time
...ate my ritual snack of a snickers bar 
...decided that getting lice is worth getting close to someone who needs comfort
...hunted down something I needed in "sterile processing" while holding a newborn
...made milo, a hot chocolaty malt drink, for new mamas
...bummed a ride off a group of high school students and another off an Irish couple to get to and from the hospital
...squatted and drug my skirt through heaven knows what
...marveled at the deep love seen in the eyes of a new mother
...struggled to open the thin, plastic packaging on a cord clamp while a midwife laughed at me
...covered a shivering mama with her wet skirt as there are no blankets
...hugged and laughed with my national midwife friend
...shuttered when a woman hawked a loogie into the corner of her small delivery space
...took pictures of sweet newborn faces
...asked God to protect the life of an unborn baby and her mama during an obstructed labor
...saw the Lord protect the life of that baby girl and her mama
...bungled a phrase (or ten) in the local language and hoped I hadn't been heard
...threatened a cockroach with my most fearsome look 
...enjoyed the random assortment of gospel music put on by a midwife
...explained the physiology of a descending baby to a first-time mama...in a foreign language
...hovered anxiously while a midwife assessed an infant with respiratory distress
...drank in the delicious scent of fresh rain wafting through the open windows

...felt like I was right where I was suppose to be...