You Will Be Born in the Spring

Dear Baby Wonderful,

This morning I took my usual walk that circles the three blocks nearest the House on the Corner. You know that walk--it's the one that comes after I've spent half an hour on the exercise bike in the basement, when I go out to cool down and pretend everyone has suddenly been struck blind and can't see me in my workout clothes.

We had thought, as we do every day now, that yesterday might be the day we would get the call that would catapult us into the car and down the road toward where you'll make your appearance some time very soon. It wasn't your day, though, and as I walked this morning I saw earthworms that had migrated to the sidewalks after last night's showers, and rhubarb poking its wrinkled leaves through the rotting leaves of last year's crop. I saw a robin making a breakfast of one of those worms, and even though it was kind of gross, it made me smile.

And I was glad you hadn't been born yesterday, because until today I hadn't yet been struck with the wonder: You will be born in the spring.

You see, we're having kind of a crappy time on earth right now. Some day you'll read about it in history books; maybe your dad and mom will mention it when they tell you about your birth day. All over the world people are scared to touch each other, so we bump our elbows together or wave nervously across a room. The global economic system is scared, too, and is wiping out a lot of the resources us old people have worked to retire on. And in our country people are just so angry, so tired, so filled with rage at the political system.

I saw a wall plaque once, though, that said "Babies are God's opinion that the world should go on."

If you know me at all by now you know that the sentiments on most wall plaques make me roll my eyes. Today that sentiment made so much sense to me.

Even with everything that's going on, we have spring. We have rhubarb and robins and showers that lull us to sleep.

You, my Wonderful? You have even more than that. You have a mother who made me wish you would be born on the International Day of the Woman--she's so smart and strong, so persistent. You have a father who feels things so deeply and takes care of all of us, and who will protect you fiercely. And they're so, so funny, so compassionate. So kind. Don't ever forget how important that is.

You have a world out there waiting to go on, waiting for you.

And you will be born in the spring.

Much love,

G.