Baby Boucher 2019…
She sat surrounded by a mountain of gifts and friends and family. Her striped shirt wrapped around her growing belly, her hair caught back in a pony tail, she looked both young and vibrantly happy. It was my joy to help pull off a beautiful shower. Her mom, aunts, friends, and extended family poured into the house, gifts in hand, to bless her and to welcome her into this secret world of tiny booties, snap closures, and baby wipe warmers.
Her mom tells me, she was the girl who dreamed of being a vet. She didn’t play house, but instead imagined herself saving the world one critter at a time. Until she was in college, she never had a pet, but she has been making up for it since. Now, she walks into pet parents’ worst days and rescues their fur babies one at a time. Her days are long, grueling, filled with drama, and lots and lots of fluids. She loves it.
When Kaitlyn met my Brian, her mom says, she reimagined life. A home, kids, and a family were now part of the equation. Watching her navigate this process has been a joy. They’ve created a beautiful home, planned and prepared for their first child, and blossomed with this pregnancy. The two of them could not be more precious!
So, we gathered and poured our love in the form of books, booties, and baby bottles on them. Our family’s other young mom made sure that the gifts were all tucked away in the nursery before she left, remembering all too well the sense of overwhelm she experienced as she awoke to this new physical reality of impending parenthood.
Kaitlyn and Brian will sort and organize and put things away over the next few weeks. The two of them are in full on preparation mode. There are a few projects that need to be finished, a few purchases that have been put off. Now, it is time to prepare. They have a list, they are on it.
It is not lost on us that we have the privilege of welcoming another baby into our lives. Now that I know how wonderful this is, I am even more eager for our next grandson. We are so grateful for their nearness, and their embrace of us as part of their lives. They invite us into their days, to celebrate, to prepare, and to enjoy. I am so grateful.
Soon we will be able to hold this new little one in our arms, until then, I am imagining a brown-haired boy with a familiar grin. I daydream about our future with Teddy and Colton tromping through my house with muddy feet, sticks, and slimy things caught in our wild backyard. I close my eyes and can envision the curve of his cheek, the smell of his hair, and his chunky thighs. My heart overflows with the sweetness and blessing of my new grandson.
