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My water broke at Nordstrom. Those who know me understand what perfect justice this is. I love shopping. In fact, I am shallow enough to give up shopping each year for Lent. That, and I always pledge for the whole Lenten season that I will put a quarter in a jar every time I swear. But this is an impossible thing to explain to very little children without sounding like the worst mother on earth, and for those a little older, it leads to a forty day discussion on whether the word frickin' is in fact a swear word or not. But I digress.

Being a Washington state native, and in fact, having drunk a few beers in college with a couple of Nordstrom boys at the neighboring fraternity, I love the store. It has the coolest clothes, the nicest people waiting on you, and a to-die for coffee bar. As my engineer husband tugged me around the country, and then the world, forever fixing both natural and man made disasters on various continents, it became a joke as to how far away the nearest Nordstrom was. But then God intervened and created Nordstrom.com. Now, I can live anywhere, including Fresno, and know my shopping needs will be met.

Every woman who has ever had a baby has a story to tell. It is absolutely the most amazing thing you as a human being will ever accomplish. You will finally forgive your body for that bit of cheese on your bum, or not having perky boobs like your friend. You will love it and admire it for the strength it has and the miracle it created. I happen to be able to fondly remember both the birth of my first son and shopping at the same time. How excited we all are for the arrival of that human being we have created! How incredible it is that as mere imperfect creatures, we can accomplish something as amazing as making a little person.

My husband and I have never been as excited as when that fertility stick magically appeared with two blue lines instead of one. In fact, I was so excited and wanted it so badly that I also saw two blue lines on the first three sticks I peed on. Then, being the savvy marketing executive I was at the time, convinced my husband that he also saw two blue lines. Then I traveled from our home in California to Washington state to visit clients and family. My mother and mother in law who also live in Washington decided they wanted to take me out to breakfast. We had to celebrate the first grandchild on both sides of the family, the first of several Richardson/Zientek concoctions. The eve before the breakfast event, as I was wining

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