three

June 7, 2007 | Filed Under ordinary 

 

jude was born early, five weeks and days, scaring us all because of the day, because of blood and emergency.  i wish i could say that i wasn’t sitting on my mother’s couch watching “win a date with tad hamilton” when the whole thing went down. 

jude was pink and had soft white hair on his head.  tiny, perfect.  the neonatologist came to be sure.  it was sunday and the room was white and shining.  i was saying silly things to the man with needles and clear bubbleless drugs and couldn’t feel my legs.  the doctor came close enough to kiss, his glasses shining and magnifying, and told me that jude was perfect, all would be well. 

today jude talks with great vocabulary, the dictionary under his gold-spinning hair, behind his freckles and the blue of his eyes, growing from checklist to pamphlet to an inches-thick hardcover first edition.  he smiles and the world is sunshine.  thank you, jude, for all that you are.

ernie drove through the tuesday night to be here with us, sleeping in the car after staying awake through mountains and the long stretch of road through ohio, indiana.  he plays, he naps, when it is no longer possible to contain ourselves we wake him up.  it’s good to have all pieces of us together again. 

 

 

my mother makes cupcakes.  we wrap presents and things that are new but aren’t presents, like handwriting paper and pencils for henry (!).  new whoopee cushions that need to be explained to old grandma who shows much confusion throughout many demonstrations and even overly explicit explanations.  i wish we had been videotaping.  rifles, cars of all kinds, games, things to open.  most birthday budgeting was suggested to be given to the swing-set fund.  hooray for multitudinous family members. 

 

we stay in illinois until sunday and head back through the flat cornscape, over and under hill, across water, music ticking away the seconds.  kindermusik classes start on monday.

 

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