Frankie my dear

1. Last night I headed to bed around 11 as a storm battered my window. About an hour later I was woken by the call I've been waiting for for a couple of weeks. Caroline is in labour.

2. Outside the storm has passed over as I run the distance from mine to theirs. My job is to drive them to the hospital and my mum will babysit. It takes mum an hour to drive up from hers and fairly swiftly we realise that they can't wait and call a cab. One quick kiss and they are off.

3. Mum arrives 20 minutes later and we sit, the 3 of us (zara the collie is here too) and wait. Just after 3am we get the news. Frankie is here. A new wee girl. After only an hour and half of labour and a very skillful cab ride, the baby is here.

4. Mum and I sit and smile, oddly shocked. At exactly the same time we burst into tears and wish that dad was here.

5. A day spent in a blur - visits, drives, wiggles and walks in the rain. A pretty fantastic day for us all.