A LETTER TO BABY GIRL PURCELL
 

Dear Baby Girl:

The poet Carl Sandburg said, "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on."

It is almost time for you, our baby, to be born into this world.  Yesterday we celebrated your impending birth with a baby shower, and your mother Allison was so happy.  A lot of people who care about your parents -- and especially about you -- attended.  Their gifts to you were lovingly wrapped and presented, and your mother accepted each expression of caring with a heart full of joy.  Everyone was happy to be sharing this time together.  There were poignant moments, and a few tears were shed.  But, most importantly, this rite signified the bond that all women of the world share -- the ability to give birth to children.

For those of us who have borne children, we never forget the exquisite process of labor and delivery all the days of our lives.  The memory of the pain is soon forgotten, but the details of the birth last a lifetime.  That's how God planned it, so we could relate these details to our children and grandchildren when they eventually and inevitably ask, "How was I born?"

You will make your amazing entrance into the world in about four weeks.  This represents just a twitch in the history of the world, but for those of us who are anxiously awaiting your birth, time will seem to stretch and elongate.  This period of waiting will be excruciating for us, but no more so than for your mother and father.  And when the time of your birth is upon her, and her body involuntarily contracts to give you life, she will endure this labor and delivery as all women of the world have done throughout history, with dignity and with love for her child.  Her reward will be the sound of your first cry.

Your mother Allison, my darling daughter, has been preparing for her role as mother all her life.  She has carried and nurtured you in her body for about eight months so far, and will nurture you with her body after you are born.  She will feed you, take care of you in sickness and in health, kiss you when you are hurt, hug you when you need a hug, and love you all the days of your life.  She will teach you those things you will need to live and thrive.

There is nothing in this world like a mother's love.  You will always remember her smell, the feel of her skin, the touch of her hand, the love in her heart, and the warmth of her embrace.  There is also nothing in this world like a newly born baby -- the sweetness and the innocence, God's clay to be molded into a lovely human being.  Your parents did a good thing in making you.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it . . . Genesis 1:28

One of these days you will understand how amazing your mother and father really are.

Your loving grandmother, Laurel