My baby touched the ground today.
“She has never touched the earth,” I said to my husband. Even as I said the words, I couldn’t believe they were true. Up until today, my baby had yet to touch the ground. She had never felt grass or smelled the dirt.
Born in late October in a year that the snow came early and frequently, the earth was embedded in ice for most of her life. Nearly six months in and it is finally exposed once again.
My eyes welled with tears as I sat her down on the grass for the very first time. I watched with so many emotions as she leaned forward and grabbed hold of the earth with both tiny hands. Even as she tumbled and got a face-full of dirt I was smiling.
My rainbow baby has met the earth. The baby that existed in hopes and dreams only for so many years was now in my arms crying muddy tears because she tried to eat the newly exposed earth. Even her temporary sadness from her first outside lesson in gravity couldn’t remove my joy.
In a week she will be six months old. It seems fitting that our tiny corner of the world is going through a seasonal metamorphosis right now. We took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and spent a couple days outside. It was the most time our baby has been outside, ever.
We brought her to a local farm, one of my favorite places. We introduced her to cows and goats. We wandered the grounds as she rode snuggled to my chest and nursed in the sunshine.
We sipped maple syrup drawn directly from the evaporator. I placed a tiny droplet on her tongue. Her eyes sparkled and she smacked her lips. Generations of ancestors smiled down at her as she enjoyed her first taste of a cultural necessity.
She napped in my arms as the breeze ruffled her hair. The weight of her always brings me a level of calm that only my babies can. I breathed her in with the new spring air.
On our way home she laughed at her sister’s stories until sleep took hold. I let her sleep in the car while I uncovered my garden and looked for signs of rebirth and growth. Things I had planted and nurtured while pregnant with her were starting to return. The smell of fresh earth mixed with the newly sprouting mint was intoxicating.
I heard a familiar cooing coming from the car. She was awake and telling a tale to her beloved bunny. When I entered her line of vision she kicked and giggled. Nothing makes me feel more loved than the reaction of my girls when they see me after waking from their sleep. I picked her up and she grabbed my face. Six months with this girl and it feels like she has always been here. She fits so perfectly.
We went inside to have dinner. There was laughter and conversation and food my husband had cooked outside. I looked at my family. Some days are hard. Some are downright impossible. But then, days like today happen. Iced coffees and farm adventures. Plentiful sunshine and warm breezes. Maple syrup and kisses from calves.
I looked down at my dinner and saw that the plate I had grabbed said “gratitude”. I smiled at my plate and then at my family. Grateful doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about these people, about this life. They are everything good and right. They have redefined love for me. They are my people and it is an honor. I am beyond grateful to walk this earth with them by my side. Today was the perfect reminder of this.
My baby touched the ground today.
***
About the Author
We are featuring our latest – greatest – 2oth print issue!!