The scene of the crime...

For any really big, high-stress event, it's a good idea to check out the location first. Today, we toured the hospital where our little girl with breathe her first breaths. Let's just say it was all a bit overwhelming.

Roaming the halls of the enormous hospital, I felt a bit like the Hickory Hoosiers touring the stadium prior to their state finals -- in over my head!

With his players overwhelmed by the size of the stadium, coach Dale has his players measure the distance to to the foul line. "15 feet." Strap puts Ollie on his shoulders to measure the distance to the rim. "10 feet." By confirming these measurements are the same as their gym at home, coach reassures his players that everything's going to be okay.

No measurements of the hospital were similar to our apartment (in fact, the bathroom in the lobby was actually about the size of our living room). However, I still got to thinking that maybe the birth of our daughter will be like the awesome finale of Hoosiers. After all, the triumph of Hickory over the South Bend Central Bears was a bit of a miracle. So's any baby being born. In Hoosiers, the whole town of Hickory, the fans in the stadium (not to mention Shooter, a crazed recovering alcoholic jumping on a hospital bed) all experience total elation at the victory of the Huskers. Similarly, our child will be welcomed and celebrated by ecstatic family and friends (though probably no recovering alcoholics jumping on hospital beds).

Well, one thing that is pretty cool is that we can bring in whatever music we want for the delivery room. So maybe we'll have to play the inspirational Hoosiers soundtrack.