We’re having a baby!

This is Baby Benson. Jo and I learned she was pregnant on the evening of Thursday, October 6, 2011. She is 13 weeks into the pregnancy, and is completing the 1st trimester.

We learned of Jo’s pregnancy the very evening her father Terry flew in from England to visit. I had never met him before, and was able to greet my new father-in-law with news that he would soon be a grandfather for the first time. He was a happy man. I think he likes me.

My own father Whit would pass away a mere 33½ hours after finding out that he would soon have another grandchild. It was his last ‘moment of significance’ before he died, and he expressed his profound happiness during those very special final hours. Though it’s an irrational belief, in my mind and heart there is a profound link between our unborn baby and my departed father, whom I loved dearly and miss terribly. I am so happy that he knew about our baby before he passed away.

The grandmothers are thrilled – my mother Gale (Grandmama), Jo’s mother Andrea (Nanny Bullen), and Jo’s step-mother Barbara (Nanny Hiley). We’ve got baby-sitters on both sides of The Pond.

I have a beautiful brilliant wife, and a wonderful life. And now we have our baby. Happiness.