My friend Nancy offered early on in my pregnancy to plan a birth blessing for me. She did it last time when I was pregnant with Claire and it was really, truly wonderful. (I'm about to have my 4th child and consider myself quite lucky to never have had to endure a baby shower, which is really quite amazing for a former Long Island girl!) Last time the ceremony was at my house with a bunch of my girlfriends. The men took the children bowling and it was exactly what I wanted at that time. I knew I couldn't allow my children to be a part of the ceremony...I was in a place of fear about the birth and the support and belief of the women around me was exactly what I needed to help carry me past it without the distraction of worrying whether or not my children were comfortable. After the ceremony we had a belly dancer and it was great fun! By far the girliest-girl bonding I had ever done!
It took me a long time to envision what I wanted this time. I knew I wanted to include the children and Chris. I've realized over the years that birthing these beautiful babies of mine is as stressful for Chris as it is for me. Certainly they haven't been perfectly easy! Over the last few months I've heard Arden express concern about having another sibling. She knows it will be crazy around here with four children... she's worried she's going to get ousted out of attention.
I wondered what was the perfect way to have a family celebration to welcome this baby into our lives? My answer was held in this verse from a book we cherish around here...
"...On the day you were born
the Moon pulled on the ocean below, and,
wave by wave,
a rising tide washed the beaches clean for your footprints...
...while far out at sea
clouds swelled with water drops,
sailed to shore on a wind,
and rained you a welcome across the Earth's green lands."
It was then the planning began...
A small, quick ceremony at an ocean beach, where I knew the children would have fun. We would be able to see, hear and smell the beauty and I would feel closer to my Mom. Nancy planned it perfectly, opening with everyone lighting a candle while expressing a wish for our family, or the baby or the birth, or all of those things, or none (as was the case with the littlest ones!) A beautiful song from Nancy & Eli, a reading of "Welcome to the World" by Arden, Walter's impromtu "You are My Sunshine", bracelets, necklaces, and dancing! It was made even more real and fun by the fat, bleached blonde woman in the background yelling at her kids that if they wanted ice cream they better hurry up and get everything together (while she stood there smoking!)
I don't have the right words and didn't get the perfect photos to describe the beauty I felt today but the joy of the day will be inside of me forevermore!
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A very special Thank You to Nancy for helping to make my vision come true. I am truly grateful for you!
and for you too Eli, you always make me laugh!
