Dear F,
You may never know me… we may never meet again… but I want to share a few things with you. I want to tell you about how the mountains were sparkling with snow on their tops as the plane dropped down over the salish sea… our beloved salish sea that you will soon discover. How my heart became full with that light sparkling off the mountains in that winter’s afternoon as I arrived on the west coast to await your birth.
I want to tell you how I arrived at the ferry and when we pushed into the waters there was a family of orcas there to greet me… and later a humpback whale flapping her tale above the water to say hello. I want to tell you how I stopped counting at 30 eagles as I drove to meet your mama and papa. I want to tell you how this land that you have arrived to is bursting with life like never before.
I want to tell you how excited your Jackson was to meet me at the door and how eager he was to do something… to play his role. How he checked on your mama over and over… then lay patiently waiting for what he knew was coming… patiently waiting for you.
I want to tell you how brave your mama is. I want to tell you how she faces the unknown with calm clarity. I want to tell you how she is capable of talking about anything and everything that is real and good and honest and she’s not afraid to be vulnerable which makes her o-so-strong.
I want to tell you how, as I left for your birth, a beautiful mist sprang up all over the valley and how that mist made time slow down and everything feel magical.
I want to tell you the story of how I watched your papa touch your mama’s cheek with so much loving kindness. Of how your papa sang you into this world. I want to tell you how my breath caught in my throat when I saw him tenderly take you in his arms seconds after you were born and hold you close to his heart.
F, I want to tell you how your mama took you into her arms… and how I may have seen the sun’s very rays shining from her eyes as she looked at you. Little One, you have arrived into the arms of your mama and papa and the world will never be the same. We are met with more beauty than our hearts know how to hold and it’s all because of you.
