Arwen had a little girl, named Sophie Annelise.

The birth music? The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, of course.

That's my niece. Conceived during the Summer of Love, and hopelessly New Age.

All is well.

So this morning I email my niece Arwen, who was due to deliver her third child two days ago.

"Arwen, how's it going?"

"It's great! I've been having contractions all night! The nurses are on their way. Boy, it's easier to have a home birth than have to go to the hospital."

"Arwen, why are you bothering to email people? You just concentrate on having that baby."

"I just had a contraction that was off the Richter Scale. Now (my husband) Ruben is taking the laptop away from me. Why?"

Me, thinking, "Thank goodness we aren't doing IM."