It began to rain the morning after that long night. Rain in
the daytime, something I didn’t see much in southern California. I was homesick
for it.
There was an atrium in the middle of the ward. You and I walked around it a long time, watching the sky. Listening to the drops fall from leaf to leaf. I leaned on a handrail when the pains came.
One after another the other babies appeared until there was just one name left on the board at the nurses' station. Mine. Your father went to check on your sister, then to pick my mother up from the airport. In between he held my hand, letting go only when I grabbed that handrail.
You were born late in the afternoon. You answered a question I’d been asking myself for months. How will I ever love this one as much as I love the first one?
This is how. Like this. Just like this. Here you are. Just as much. Always have, always will.
There was an atrium in the middle of the ward. You and I walked around it a long time, watching the sky. Listening to the drops fall from leaf to leaf. I leaned on a handrail when the pains came.
One after another the other babies appeared until there was just one name left on the board at the nurses' station. Mine. Your father went to check on your sister, then to pick my mother up from the airport. In between he held my hand, letting go only when I grabbed that handrail.
You were born late in the afternoon. You answered a question I’d been asking myself for months. How will I ever love this one as much as I love the first one?
This is how. Like this. Just like this. Here you are. Just as much. Always have, always will.
 |
| Happy Birthday |
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| Becomes a happy mother three times |
Thanks for coming. Come again soon.
Leann
That is a very special moment, isn't it? When that worry, that certainty, that you could never love the next child half as much as that wonderful first-born, just falls away, as you are once more consumed by simple love for your child. This child. Every child you give birth to.
ReplyDeleteBy the way. I'm not surprised you love your children. They're great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret. You're right. The worry just falls away. And thanks for the compliment to my children. They have turned out well so far, despite all my best efforts more than because of them!
ReplyDeleteLovely. Just lovely. Happy Birthday to Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Karen, and taking the time to comment. Hope you visit often.
ReplyDelete