Change of pace here while I try to pick up the rhythm of a return to work for one more week of classes — must admit I’d prefer to play couch potato, like my darling Harriet. . .
These were taken the weekend before last, the weekend of that fabulous breakfast,
While I’m not done with grieving, obviously, and still want to write my way through some of my responses to the whole big process of losing a (last) parent, I think a baby break is justified.
We’ve begun to suspect a curl establishing itself in that red hair. . .
And how about those big baby blues. . . .
She was such a welcome antidote in all the gatherings the last few days — hard to resist the chance to make a baby smile, and hard to stay sad when one has success at that. . . . Just peeking at her, asleep in her porta-crib, being soothed by ocean waves on the iPad, cheered me. And we collected around her to watch the latest trick — put her down on her back and watch her draw knees up, swing them to the side, then flip her body over onto her tummy, trapping her arms firmly beneath her until she squiggled sufficiently to free them.
In the wake of death, I wonder how many more times I will get to watch a baby grow, get to cuddle that plump sweetness, feel the bonds tighten as she gains confidence in our eye contact, concentrates on following the pattern of my chat and tries her best to respond with lips pursed, eyebrows working hard, vocal cords pressed into cooing action. In the wake of death, I commit to attending as carefully as I can to the life around me. In the wake of death . . . . I begin my week, remembering the scrumptiousness of a baby hug . . . .
May yours be a Happy Monday!
She is lovely!
It's times like this that we really need to have hope and the assurance that life goes on and what is better than being in the company if a darling baby?
She looks like a red head! Gotta love that.
Nothing heals like a baby's company, and yes, gotta love a redhead, as you well know! 😉
That's what it's all about. She's beautiful, with her curl and her big blue eyes and you are so lucky to be nearby to watch her come into her own.
I feel very lucky indeed.
She is totally adorable and isn't it wonderful that, amidst all the sadness and grief, there is such joy. The warp and the weft of life. I too found that I have become much more aware of how precious a gift life is after Mum died.
Thanks, Marianne. Yes, it's that weaving that keeps us going, isn't it?!
What a darling and what an antidote. Harriet – you rock!
She truly does, Amanda — thanks!
So true, how new life assuages the end of a long-lived one. You have extraordinarily adorable granddaughters!
After my Dad died, we found out that my sister was having twins — we continue to marvel at how they have inherited his spirit.
And thank you re the granddaughters — I must agree!
She is just the cutest! Love that hair. And the top.
Thanks! I can't wait 'til the hair begins to grow.
What expression on her little face. I think that she will be curly.It is wonderful how life renews itself in the face of loss.
It is wonderful — belief in that renewal is affirmed at this time of year, especially in our little ones and in the garden.
She's just adorable. And a redhead!
And I look forward to hearing your thoughts on, as you say, the last parent. This is the kind of sharing that helps us.
Thanks, Lisa.
What a lovely baby girl. Thank you for sharing your baby break with us. I look forward to reading what you want to write about your Mother.
She is sweet, isn't she? I know you've written about your Mother, so you know that this is "handle with care" territory. . .
What's been interesting, as time goes on, is that the meaning is changing. A few years ago, the meaning was all tied up in my experience growing up with my mother and the later years, as an adult, processing that experience. More recently, the meaning is shifting to a wider cultural/historical context. My mother did not experience much in the way of feminist progress.
I don't know if the idea of shifting meaning will resonate with your own experience, but wanted to mention it, in case it is helpful.
Baby therapy is the best kind! I remember going through a very difficult time when my youngest was about 18 months old. I would awaken in the night, unable to sleep, and gather her up from her bed, then sit with her in the rocking chair. She slept through it all and I was comforted. Harriet is such a darling.
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