Tomorrow is officially your big day. Your birth certificate clearly states that June 29th, 2007 is the day of your birth. But the date only tells a small portion of the story and the 28th will always be a very, very special day for me. The 29th may be your day but I think I'll claim the 28th as mine.
At 4:15 in the morning on the 28th I woke up and knew I was going to have you. I tried to go back to sleep like they tell you to in the birthing classes but I was too excited. Instead, I folded three loads of laundry (the full extent of my nesting instinct) and waited. Your Poppa and I went to a dentist appointment, we stopped by our doula Stephanie's house and she confirmed your impending arrival. We then went downtown to the law office, had lunch at the fair trade store and went back home to wait for 3:00 o'clock when the midwives were expecting me for my usual Thursday appointment. It was a long drive to the birth center with the contractions coming every four to five minutes on the pothole checkered streets of DC.
The midwives took one look at me (I was already five centimeters dilated) and told me to go ahead and choose my birthing room, I was going to have a baby. That's all I needed to hear; I shed my clothes, drew the tub and slipped under the warm water to wait and labor. For the next eight hours I joined you in the process of being born. The sun went down, a thunderstorm rolled through, Mama G arrived from Atlanta and the contractions came with increasing intensity and speed as we moved to our shared rhythm.
Then, at 12:41 am, with one final push and surrounded by Poppa, Mama G, Stephanie and four midwives, you moved from the inside to the outside. And there we were, the whole universe, in one room. You seemed to fly through the air (your Poppa swears that they literally threw you on top of me) and everything just fell into place. There you were naked and slippery and breathing (because of course, that's what every parent wants to know) and rooting around looking for something to drink. It was a perfect birth.
Thank you, Marian, for finding your way here to us. You may have been born at 12:41am on June 29th but yours wasn't the only "birth" that night. At that very moment, I became Momma, Poppa became Poppa and the world will never, ever be the same.
3 comments:
Happy birthday, sweet Marian.
And Amy, this is a teary-eyed, simply amazing post. You are wonderful.
Love,
Trish
Happy Birthday Marian!!! We hope to celebrate with you soon. We owe your momma a phone call and some details of an upcoming trip to your new hometown of Atlanta!
Love Ashley, Bronson, and Jackson
Marian,
Wow, can your mom write! Now that I have cleared the tears from my eyes, I can write to wish you a happy birthday. In many ways, I feel like I've been celebrating since November 2006. See, I learned of your creation at the same time I was learning that Poppa Joe was dying. So for me, you have always been a sign of healing, a sign that the world continues to spin no matter what pain we are struggling with. I think I have mentioned before that you represent the circle of life to me, and I think that is the best way to sum it up. You were a blessing that God gave our family. On the day/night you were born, I was in California, where I constantly asked myself "why haven't they invented time travel yet?" Sitting at my desk, I called Momma G for constant updates. Then, a little after 10pm Pacific time, I received the call saying that you had entered the world. What celebration there was in my apartment! Parker and I were so excited! I told everyone I could think of that I was an aunt. Certainly not as important a role as being a mother, but just ask your Grand Aunts Roz and Rachael and they will tell you that aunts and nieces have special bonds of their own. You were here, you were real and you were amazing. Over the last year, I have watched my sister become a mother, something that is amazing in itself. To watch someone I was a kid with (who refused to play dolls with me), all of the sudden have this beautiful angel to care for, words cannot describe. The first time I saw her nurse you I thought I would explode with the beauty of it. So, my dear sweet Marian, you are a gift to us all. You have allowed us to heal, you have brought us closer together and you have shown me the beauty of the universe. I second what your Momma said - thank you for finding your way to us. Thank you for being you. I love you dearly. Happy Birthday
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