In honor of the first birthday of the Wondergrandson, I offer this repost:
No Ketchup
Seven months ago I waited for this to be done:
Once the snow melted, I began to wait for these:
Today I waited for my grandson to be born.
This was different than when my granddaughter was born. Sixteen years have passed and life has changed, of course. On that day I was an active participant in the birth and while the pulsing was certainly there, my attention was on my daughter, my focus was keenly on her and the incredible ordinary magic of the process.
Today I waited. I sat on the couch in my living room working while the dog and cats slept nearby, the historic heat pressed its estimable weight on the world and, a few short miles away, my daughter once again labored through the incredible ordinary magic of giving birth. The pulsing this time was nearly deafening, pulling my mind and heart away from the work at hand. When the pulsing overwhelmed, I called friends and talked until it was just a hum in the background.
In the evening family assembled—my daughter's sister and aunt, my husband, Florida Freddy. We ate pizza, we laughed, we talked. We waited together. Then a point came when I knew I had to go to the hospital—worry had overwhelmed all the other elements of waiting. I drove the few miles, walked in to the labor/delivery room, checked out what was going on and, after a little while, came home again.
Two hours later my phone buzzed. "Baby's here. Shannon says Wendy's, please."
We all piled into one car and headed for the drive through. I spoke into the intercom, gave the order. "A #1 with cheese and no onions."
"No ketchup?"
"No. No onions."
Shannon's aunt said, "Where did she get 'no ketchup?'"
We all laughed, releasing the swirl of anticipation and excitement (no more worry). We laughed again when the two giant cups of soda were passed out of the drive through window. We laughed again when we saw the sign proclaiming that ketchup and salt were available by request. We even laughed when we got stuck behind a man on a motorcycle following the white line on the right side of the road at 10 mph in a 35 zone—though our laughter was once again tinged with worry.
In the vestibule we had to wait to be allowed in—a group of five giddy adults carrying tubs of soda and a paper sack redolent of grease and salt, surrounded by a pulsing halo of excitement and anticipation that was surely visible.
Down the hall, the nurses calling congratulations from their station and then the waiting was over and there was this:
Look at those eyes. Look at the old soul peering out from inside.
When I held him for the first time, I felt a pulsing made of wonder and gratitude and the incredible ordinary magic of love.
2 comments:
I love this post, Elizabeth, so beautifully written. I have been waiting, too, as you know, for a week now—full to bursting with publication news I couldn't share while final negotiations were being made. Perhaps this is one of those writerly comparisons that won't be appreciated, I don't know—certainly, in your case, a life was in the balance—but my waiting came at the end of a 9-year pregnancy, and the meaning of my life felt at stake. I felt many things just the way you describe them here. It's so thrilling to announce it will be a healthy, baby—book!
This is a beautiful post, Elizabeth.
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