Dear Baby,
I know we just met and haven’t had a lot of time to get to know each other yet, but I already love you. I never knew before seeing your face how much my heart could fill with love for someone I didn’t make.
But really, this is not about me. This is about your mommy.
As I sat with her in the days leading up to your arrival, I saw your mommy in ways I never could have imagined. I got to know her on a deeper level and despite knowing her my entire life, waiting for you helped us to push our relationship to an entirely different realm.
I’ve always looked up to your mommy. She’s always been my big sister, both in age and stature, and she’s always been a source of support and love. But during the time we waited, together, for you to be born, I found a new admiration for her.
In the time we waited for you, your mommy did work she never could have imagined. She worked through what is the definition of “labor.”
She tackled hours upon hours of what was most certainly the hardest work of her life. But she handled that work with an amazing sense of strength, determination and poise.
Even when faced with tough choices and the need to compromise, she pushed on. Simply replying “so, what next?” She moved forward, ever closer to you.
Even when faced with disappointment that got to me as an observer, she never lost her positive attitude. Your mommy rode the waves and took it all in stride. She never got upset and never lost sight of you.
Even when things got almost too much to handle, she never gave up and never got nasty. Your mommy never lashed out, always knowing you were the light at the end of it all.
As we faced the darkness of night together, as the rest of the world rested in peace, your mommy worked. As the waves overcame her, she pushed on. As she faced the limits of her strength, she thought of you.
In the thick of it, I would place my hand over hear heart and her worry would rush out. For hours, we worked through it together and we forged a new road. No longer friends, or even just sisters, we’re forever tied together in the realm of mommyhood.
And I already see how your touch melts her the same way mine did in those hours of darkness. I see how your hand on her heart melts away her fears and reminds her of what really matters.
Someday, your mommy will tell you the story of your journey to our world and no matter what she says, how she tries to joke away those days or brush off the endless hours of work, know that she was amazing every second of it.
Very touching Melissa…
Thank you, Dora!