Hottest day of the year pt.1
August 15th, 2026—Lillian, Basil, & I woke up like it was any other Saturday morning. Except it was really hot. And this Saturday was not like other Saturdays. Lillian was not ten, but eleven days past her due date and I was preparing to work my last shift at the same salad restaurant where I met Waka Flocka. I hoped that labor would begin so I wouldn’t need to work, but also felt happy to fulfill my commitment. Right before I was about to head out, Lillian last-ditch-effort used a breast pump to stimulate labor (thanks Anna & David). And it worked! Lillian began labor then and we giddily started mobilizing.
Basil went to sleep over at her friend Auden’s house and our roommate Alex feverishly readied our space for baby’s move in. Lillian and I went to buy snacks at Kroger and then raced to the birth center (drove responsibly and obeyed all traffic laws). Conceptions of time began disappearing and we found ourselves in the presence of a midwife named Laci at the birth center. Laci is the same midwife who delivered Basil and it was not planned that she would deliver our second—the schedule just worked out like that. It’s those moments that God winks.
We spent a hilarious amount of time showing Laci pictures from Basil’s birth and how’s she’s grown up since. Not one but two photo viewing sessions. The crazy west coast tour. At a beach home on the east coast. Just being the cutest little girl ever type photos really. Then I asked to see some photos of Laci’s kids. Not just to be polite, but because I really wanted to know more about who she was. Lillian and I think Laci is friggin’ cool. And I suspect the light of Christ is in her?
And then, like kids on Christmas Eve, we anxiously awaited the gift. The one you asked for but are kind of afraid to receive (will I steward it well? Will it make me happy?). Difference is that this gift would include more screeching and blood and crying than a suburban Christmas morning with the fam. Birth does not always look pretty, but when the peace of Christ is present, suffering just makes sense. And yet it doesn’t make sense, but there’s peace anyway somehow.
The contractions were increasingly more painful and Lillian climbed into the birthing tub. Her groans became louder and just as I was about to call Laci, she was already there. Quietly supporting in the background, orchestrating and ensuring Lillian and baby safe delivery. Queen Lillian, the same queen who labored a whopping 39 hours with Basil Claire. She was at it again, giving her whole being to the emergence of a new blessing.
And then the gift was given and I witnessed a miracle: a baby boy, lifted from the waters. He screeched a time or two and then curled up in Lillian’s arms. He’s been there ever since. The baby boy weighed a couple of pounds and I can’t even remember how tall he was because I was being transfigured by mercy’s screech. And the name thing was a problem too. We still hadn’t landed on one yet. And that was when I felt the thou mayest nudge. My Steinbeck fans know what i’m talking about.
Sure we had a bunch of great boy names picked out, but nothing felt obvious at first glance. our names were earthy; not overly gendered; not overly self aggrandizing names. Honest and earnest! But we still didn’t know who he was. So Lillian researched by nursing and snuggling & I researched by diaper changing and song singing. Instead of sleeping I scribbled more first middle lasts in my notebook, and hoped to be struck by lightning. But I never was. Good news is that I did kind of know my favorite name anyways. And that was yet another miracle.
So. Here we come to the conclusion of Hottest day of the year pt. 1: Lillian passed me the ball at half court right before the buzzer and said shoot.
~
Ira Francis Tyson
Born August 15th 2026
at Vanderbilt Birth Center
3:21pm—7lbs 13oz, 21”
One who sees things
