Archive | 11:15 pm

I didn’t want to pick her up.

24 Jan

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” -Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

I, however, was not so willing to accept my destiny. I wanted to fight it, change it, punish it, scream at it, plead with it, bargain with it….Anything but, accept it.

I was left alone at the hospital with Oli when Seth had to go and drop Kekoa off back with his Grandma. She was sleeping peacefully in her little clear plastic bassinet beside my bed. I turned on the TV for a little distraction. This turned out to be a very bad idea.

I started watching the new mommy/baby show that is on the hospital channel. I guess I felt like torturing myself for a little while. Watching all those cute babies and learning about their development. They were smiling and cooing at the camera. Their big eyes filled with the wonderment of the new world they’ve just been introduced to.

Would my daughter ever smile at a camera and coo like a normal baby?

Would she even live long enough to achieve this level of development?

These were the earth shattering questions that I felt the need to ponder at this moment. Watching all those beautiful babies I started looking at my own beautiful tiny baby girl. Beautiful but, different.

And then I was afraid of her.

This little 6 pound peanut. I was suddenly afraid of her. How could I possibly take her home and care for her? How could I teach her? I had never even met a blind person before.
I looked back up at the television monitor and wished with all of my heart that I could just reach through that screen and grab one of those babies. I wanted to replace her with one of them. One I wasn’t afraid of. I looked at her again.

I didn’t want to pick her up.

But, then I did pick her up. Because that’s what mothers do. We pick up our children and love them. Even when they don’t fit into our perfect little box of what we thought we wanted. We pick them up and love them because they are our babies.

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Destiny

24 Jan

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved.” -Helen Keller

Destiny is a funny thing. There are times in my life where I have hated it and refused to believe in it and there are times that I have witnessed it’s amazing power. Destiny is a strong word. I do not say this lightly when I tell you that Kekoa was destined to be Oliana’s big brother.

This is the story about my 1st miracle. What better way for a miracle to arrive than in the form of a little, 18 month old boy named Kekoa.

The day that the doctor gave us the awful news about Oliana’s eyes was no doubt one of the most painful experiences of my life. It was absolutely devastating to my husband and I as well as our families. It was devastating to everyone except one little boy. One little bright light that happened to come to visit me that day to meet his new baby sister.

I had just finished telling Seth that our baby was going to be blind. Kekoa was wandering around the hospital room playing with his favorite cars and periodically watching the cartoons I had on the TV. After the tears were dried up and Seth and I had composed ourselves, I ask Kekoa if he wants to meet his new sister. We had been practicing for months with a tiny toy doll and he was very excited to show us just exactly how gentle he could be.

Seth picks him up so he can have a better view of her lying in the bassinet. He asks Kekoa if he wants to give her a kiss. He slowly nods his head yes and says “bee-bee”. Seth leans down and Kekoa gives his sister the sweetest little kiss on the top of her head. He then asks to be put down on the floor. Seth puts him down on the ground and…..

He starts walking around the room with his eyes closed and his little chubby baby hands out in front of him.

He is pretending to be blind.

Somehow this little boy, a baby really, has this whole thing figured out in 20 minutes. Tears that had been dry just a few minutes ago immediately race down my cheeks. How does he know?

He then opens his eyes, turns around and looks at his 2 astonished parents. He just looks at us like, “Yeah. So she’s blind. See I can do it. It’s no big deal.”

I will forever love my son for the millions of gifts he has given me as his mother. However, the memory of him walking that room with his eyes closed with be forever imprinted in my mind as one of the things I love the most. It was the moment I realized that Kekoa was more than willing to accept his destiny.

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