it was 1 am
last night
when
the phone
rang.
i dug through
a pile of clothes
for
the phone
blind with sleep,
frantically…
my brother’s wife,
little pearl,
had been in labor
almost 48 hours.
i missed the call.
damn!
it was my mom.
it’s a boy.
busy signal
my parents
haven’t quite
joined
the modern world
with cell phones,
let alone
call waiting-
so i had to wait
forever to
talk to my mom.
no name yet
little pearl
is still under
after a rough
48 hours
and a c-section.
1 hour later.
still wide awake.
my brother called.
he sounded tired.
there was a tone
in his voice
that was new-
maybe it was
a lot of emotion…
he’s not
normally one
for
a lot of emotion.
that little punk
just wouldn’t
come out!
was one of
the first things
he said.
.............
i am not good
with these things.
i hear baby
announcements
all the time.
i think that
they
can't really
feel it
unless you
are there
or it's
someone
really really
close
to you.
this one's
about
as close
as it gets.
yet
i still feel
pretty
far removed
as the
excitement
builds
far away
in seattle
but
on the way
to school
and
as
i try to study,
my thoughts
keep returning
to the new
little one
(still nameless),
little pearl,
and
my brother-
the new dad.
[painting above
by the new dad]
13 comments:
A Boy! Exciting! Sounds pretty rough on the Pearl, though. Congratulations, Autie G.
congratulations on becoming an auntie(or should i say anty!)it's always so amazing to think of a new little one just being born.....
It's very exciting and I sympathise with being so far away when you know something so big is going on.
I remember hearing the same new sound in my brother's voice when his first child was born and I was pregnant with my first and I knew I was in for a ride.
I hope you get a chance find your own way to join in and discover the role of auntie. It can be very nice :-)
Yay...Congratulations Auntie G!!!!! Im sure you will slip into your new role very quickly!!!!!!!!!
I love the painting!
Little Punk's had a rough entry - but how wonderful to have special people far away wishing kindness and goodness and love for him.
Birth can be magical, but it can be shocking even under the best of circumstances. It doesn't make the experience any less worthwile though.
You'll be an amazing Auntie - and just think how cool you will be with all your bugs to play with :)
yay! congrats to you auntie and your brother and sister in law...i'm sure its hard to be away. i totally get that!
don't you wish you could go bake them a banana bread or clean their bathroom or something? i hate feeling useless, even though i know it's just my love & care that's really needed. it's hard to be far away. >> hug to you <<
now that's exciting!!
i love that your brother said the little punk too - that's funny.
wow. wow. wow... auntie gwen! [you are going to be the coolest aunt ever!]
Congratulations to all. That new sounds in his voice is just that he's a Dad now - thats all!
I just found out that "little punk" has been given a name. "You have to accentuate the positive and elimnate the negative"...and other allusions to coping with biblical floods and all...
Here's to your new Aunt-hood. Wow, aren't birth stories amazing. I'm glad everything went okay. I love your brother's painting, it looks like a painting about birth, with the plantlike forms in the womb shape dome.
Aunt-dom, such fun! It's hard to be far away, but if you were looking for an excuse for a trip...now you'll always have one! congratulations. :^)
congratulations to your whole family!!
You will love being an aunt :)
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