Before you were conceived,
I wanted you.
Before you were born,
I loved you.
Before you were here an hour,
I would give my life for you.
This is the miracle of life.
- Maureen Hawkins
For my first baby shower, my sister gave me a beautiful frame with these words engraved on it. I had never heard of this poem or the person who wrote it. But, when I read these words, how powerfully it struck my heart, how true and accurate these words resonated. In the hour after the birth of my first baby, during a time when I was still reeling from a first childbirth, I apparently said something that stood out in our doula's mind because she would use this phrase to remind us of how magical that first hour of life was for us. I said to her with my baby in my arms that, "I never knew this kind of love existed." And it is so utterly true...I never knew this kind of love existed until I met my babies...the kind of love that matches no other love, the kind of love that only a parent has for their children and Maureen Hawkins summed it up in four simple sentences.
The arrival of a new baby into a family is always a time to rejoice and celebrate. But, the arrival of a first baby is monumental in so many ways. It is monumental because we move from being an individual or two individuals bonded in love to being responsible for another human soul. What an honor and at the same time how terrifying the notion that another human being will rely on us 100% and more to survive, thrive, and grow. But, at the root of it all is this love...a love that cannot be matched anywhere in the entire universe. And to know of this love is truly a privilege, an honor and a sacred gift.
This Mama Peapod is created for a new mama...an old friend who is a best friend to my sister and who is also a friend to the person who requested this custom...you see, the world really does go round and everyone is so connected whether we know it or not.
Congratulations, D and M! You are parents! And to B who reached out to me to have something special made by Scarlet Elfcup....well, you must be someone very special to D for knowing the things that she loves and for arranging this gift for her and for reaching out to me. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to make something for our D that will mean so much to her. It meant a lot to me to have this chance to make her something special. So, thank you, B!
