February 20th...a perfect day to be a Midwife

Some days I wonder why I am doing this job, and other days I know it is a vocation. Today is the latter. The call came at 04:44. An auntie was calling for her neice who was in labour. How far apart are the contractions...three minutes...I'll meet you at the health centre. Second call came about three minutes later from the ambulance service sayiing someone had just called them about someone in labour. Could I call this number please. Of course, and luckily, it was the ssame woman. Called the second Midwife because she has asked to have at last twenty minutes to have a shower before she has to come. As the client was a gravida 8, para 6, with a last labour of 45 minutes, we knew she would unlikely take long.
Car was warming up, I was washed, and off to the halth centre. Nurses upstairs was all excited that we were going to have a birth. She had worked in Inuvik in Labour and Delivery. Nobody else was around.
Client arrived and was seven centimetres dilated. Perfect. Got her settled, basically walking the halls, and went to get her some water. (The kitchen was now clean and organized. When I was in during the evening, with another client, water was flowing out of the wall coffee maker at a remarkable rate. It was all over the floor and through the cupboards. Not sure what was wrong, but eventually we discovered who should be called, and they much have come, cause it was all cleaned up).
At six am she had not had her baby. I was in our postpartum room. Looking out the window, one could see the sunrise starting...not that the sun was rising yet, but the beautiful colours on the horizen were lovely...purples/pinks and yellows.
She had her baby at 6:30. Loevely birth on her hands and knees. Half an hour later shew as ready to leave the centre, but we keep everyone there for three hours. She left at 9:30, and I went home.
A flat mate had arrived the night before, and we almost walked into each other as I walked into the main part our our town house. She told me she had been quiet, so she would not wake me, since she had woken up, and had not put on the washing because she did not want to wake me. How hilarious. We talked for a few minutes, and she was off to get her plane. Put the laundry in the dryer, had a lovely vegetarian fry up for breakfast, and went to lye down, expecting to play sudoku and read my book. Was I wrong. Half an hour later I was asleep.
Now it is a beautiful day. Have to go visit Mum and babe at 5, have slept for 2 hours, and am looking at a beautiful Arctic day. It is clear, visibility is unlimited, although since the tundra is flat, that is not really that far, and it is -30 so nice and crisp. It is now still light at 5pm, and living here is thoroughly enjoyable.
As a Midwife it is hard to resist a day like this.