Bulldogs and Space Shuttles

"You know what you remind me of?" I asked her, my tall and classy counselor who takes no bull from anyone, least of all me. She is perceptive and intuitive, and she calls out my every fleck of body language. I might as well sit there naked, for all the protective reserves I have in that room.

Good thing I trust her with my very life.

"When Robb and I took our childbirth classes, I remember the nurse saying to all the men in the room, 'Gentlemen, listen to me. If there is someone your wife does not wish to have in that labor and delivery room, that person is not welcome. And it is not your job to guard the door; your top priority is your wife. Keep your focus on the woman in labor. If there is someone whom she doesn't wish to include - be it her mother, your mother, her sister, your sister - tell the nurse. She'll keep them out. Labor and delivery nurses are bulldogs with lipstick: we look demure and put together, but nothing gets by us.'

"You're like her," I continued. "You're like the labor and delivery nurse of this journey. You've been down this road with others before, and although it's different for everyone, you know about what to expect. You know the encouragement, meds, and coaching I'll need, and you're willing to stand between me and anything that could distract me from the task at hand."

"I absolutely am. This bulldog will even wear lip gloss. I'll keep it light and shiny, if we need to. Tricia, have you seen Apollo 13?"

"I have. It's one of my favorites."

"When they're trying to get back to earth, the NASA specialists on land know that those guys need to spare all the energy they can in order to get home. They guide the astronauts on board to unplug everything that requires electricity, so they are even sitting in the dark. They unplug anything that drains the shuttle at all, anything that takes away from the goal: getting them home safely.

"You have a close team of people around you, and we're your specialists. You need to listen to us - you've got to unplug from anything that drains you. We've got to get you home safely.

And we will. We'll get you home safely."