As a new father, I quickly learned the true meaning of maternal instinct. Late one night, I was summoned to the hospital to attend to one of my patients. I quietly got up in the dark but tripped over a toy and crashed to the floor. As I lay there rubbing my sore leg, my wife slept on.

　　Then there was a faint cough from the nursery. Debra leaped out of bed, running past me down the hall to our baby's room. When she returned, she looked at me and said, "What on earth are you doing on the floor?"

剛剛作了父親，我就很快體會到母性本能的涵義了。一個深夜，醫院召我去照應一位病人。我悄悄地在黑暗中起了床，但一只腳絆在一個玩具上，撲通一聲摔在地板上。我倒在那里，揉著疼痛的腿，妻子毫無反應地繼續睡著。

　 突然，嬰兒房傳來輕微的咳嗽聲。戴博拉躍下床來，從我身邊跑過，下了客廳到我們嬰兒的房間。她返回來時，看了看我說：“你究竟在地板上干什么？”