"It's like a circle, and it goes round and round..."

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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Abby meet world!





Good Evening my little girl!

This is Daddy, the one that keeps nuzzling you daily when you're trying to sleep. Has it really been only 2 weeks since the moment you were born? We spent 39 weeks of our lives waiting on you to become a part of it, and in only seconds it seems here you are and you've already changed since those first moments.

You're a blessing to us, Abby Whab. As I sit here watching Niney and Papa, your grandparents, holding you while you sleep, it reminds me of a time I cannot remember. An earlier, simpler time when your Niney was holding me the same way she is holding you now. Of course, I was too young to remember this and can only rely on those who were grown up then to tell me of those times. We will do the very same thing for you one day.

You're more than just a blessing, Abby, you're a miracle. According to a doctor that my mom had to receive treatments from a few short years after I was born, you should not even exist. The reason being, he said I should not have existed either. My mother, your grandmother, had a hormone imbalance that should have prevented her from ever having a child of her own. The condition was one that had been present since before I was born. The doctor was truly amazed when Niney told him that I was her 3 year-old son, and that she had had me from conception until that day. To this he replied the following words, "I'm a christian Mrs. Thrift and I believe that everyone and everything on this Earth was put here for a reason. We all have a purpose, but every now and then someone is sent here for a special reason. Now I may never live to see what that purpose may be, but I believe your son was put here for a special reason because he never should have been."

Strong words, especially from a reknowned endocrinologist as he was at that time. Just as that doctor said that day, Abby, he did not live to see what special reason I was sent here for. I myself am not sure what that reason may be either, but I've still got a lot of time left to figure it out, hopefully. But, perhaps that reason is you, Abby? If I never should have been, obviously you should have never been as well. So that begs the question, what reason are you here for now?

Only time will tell what you become as you age, dear little Abby. For now, your special purpose in life is the shear happiness you bring to both your mother and I. Through 7 years of marriage, we wondered when you might arrive? Sometimes we got distraught, worried that maybe God had passed us by somehow when it came to being a parent. But as everyone often told your mother and I when we hoped and prayed for someone we loved to come along, for someone we wanted to marry to come along, it's all in God's timing.

I myself, since the time I first married Leslie, believed we would have a little girl first. When your mother told me she was pregnant, I knew you were a girl, as did Niney. What does that mean, Abby? Why did we already know? How did we already know? Niney even claimed that you, you little Abby before you were born, came to her in a dream and told her the exact date you would be born, February 27, 2010. Can you tell us the winning lottery numbers now, little Abby?

That was a little joke, my precious girl. The fact remains, we knew you were coming before you did. Obviously, God has a VERY special reason for you to be here too. What that reason may be, well, only God knows.

Right now Mommy is giving you the nourishment you need to grow up big and strong in the years to come. I've already looked ahead and I've seen a beautiful, dark-haired woman with spectacular blue eyes looking back at me. You'll be tall, with a beautiful complexion that makes you the envy of many. You'll have a personality that is charismatic and true, and people will want to know you, just for you. You'll be hopelessly romantic, as any Pisces are, and you'll care more for others than even yourself. One day I hope to meet this fine young woman, but for now I'll enjoy the captivating moments of cradling you in my arms and watching your little dimples form as you smile everytime I gently rub the side of your face.

When I was two weeks old, Abby, your great grandmother, Maw Maw, wrote me a letter telling me about all that was to come in the world I was about to awaken to. She was a journalist for the local newspaper in our hometown and is still a gifted writer today. I want to share that letter with you now so her words can touch you the same way they have touched me. From one generation to the next, I give you these words as a gift, a blessing upon your generation. It is a chance for you to overcome what we have already learned the world to be. Some of it is scary, but necessary. Some of it is profound, and true. But all of it comes from the heart of Maw Maw and the love she had for me that she now passes on to you:

The following letter is written by staff writer Joanne Thrift, and is published here in the hope that it will be of interest to you. It is an open letter to her newly born grandson. He is the first son of Joanne's first son. Rick Thrift, one of our circulation department managers here at the Daily Mail. We publish this and similar staff produced items and because we would like you to get to know something about the people who write and edit your newspaper each day.

Dear Jason,

You are only two weeks old and it will be some time before you will be capable of reading this letter. But it seems appropriate to write it while the feeling is strong and the words come easily. Now you cannot understand and later when you can it will be harder to say.

There you are, sleeping as usual, with your eyes shut tight and occasionally what seems to be a smile flickering across your perfect little face, as you perhaps dream innocently or think your baby thoughts. As our first grandchild, you occupy a unique place in our lives. It seems such a short while ago that your father was our first baby. Such a short time that the memories are still vivid, unfaded... There were the times of pure joy and the nights of sleeplessness, the learning with the first baby. Now your father and mother will walk the same path, trace the same steps, but in their own way.

Has it actually been 18 years since the day I left your father at school for the first time, all alone. I can see him now, with his lower lip quivering as he lined up with the other first graders to march into Kennedy Street Elementary School. He looked around at me and his eyes were unhappy. But he didn't cry and he went in leaving me standing there all alone. He didn't cry but I did.

Now I look at you and I have this overwhelming feeling of continuity. And that's what being a grandparent for the first time means when you get right down to it. You think you will feel older but instead there is a new relationship with the young, a beginning over again. So this is a letter to the new generation, with all the love and affection one can give such a beautiful little being. As with each new generation, you will be facing drastic and unprecedented changes in old values and accepted standards of behavior. The new morality has created problems very different from those of only a decade ago. It's true you have a better start than some, with parents who are strong Christians and who intend to rear you in the church. But never before have young people been so exposed to drugs and the challenges to traditional morals being purveyed so bouteously by reading matter, movies and in some instances, companions. And there is the speed with which events move today to affect lives, ideals and behavior. Nevertheless, there are forces which always have been crucial for human happiness and the survival of a society and will be crucial as long as human nature remains what it is.

Jason, if you opt for honesty, fairness and consideration for others; if you are willing to make sacrifices to build a better society for yourself and for your children; if you will work vigorously to place in public office men and women of ability, honesty and devotion to the common good, there can be no doubt about the outcome. But what a load to put upon those tiny shoulders. Mass communication has made people aware of instances of crime and immorality to a degree that was not possible before.

Mine was the generation that grew up in the shadow of World War II. The things that troubled us most in high school were paper shortages, which meant we could not publish a high school annual, and gas shortages, which meant we could not take a senior trip. During war times, it was thought too frivolous to have a formal junior-senior, so we couldn't dress up for the occasion. Still we were forced to become adults at 17, because our males went into service at 18. They were considered manly enough to fight and die for the country then, but not old enough to vote for or against the people who said so. The great conflict not only caused it's disruptions of our populace. A river of money began to pour out to defense industries and this country was on its way to becoming the wealthiest the world had ever known.

The barriers that had imposed restraints on speech and conduct began to fall, one by one. People became accustomed to seeing four-letter words in novels and plays during the late '40s, and by the early '50s, an unfrocked Harvard professor had started a new religion based on hallucinogenic drugs. It began to be fashionable to take at least one trip on LSD and books and movies became bolder. Then in the middle '60s, a Supreme Court decision exempted from the definition of pornography any work having social or literary value.

As a child of the '70s, Jason, all of this will be just so much ancient history to you. You will live through your own time, make your own adjustments, become your own person. And your grandparents, in the flush of excitement over their first grandson, hope to be of some importance in your life. In preparation, we are thinking over again some of the standards we tried to attain in bringing up your dad, your aunt, your uncle-no overprotectiveness, an attempt at understanding, not being so closed-minded as to stereotype all youth in the image of the worst element, a try at communication and most of all, loving enough.

It's true that the youth cult developed in the '60s by advertisers who waked up to a field of potential new customers has created an age in which many of the young hold up to scorn persons over 30 and their works and ideas. And this, in turn, does not instill in persons over 40 any great amount of confidence in their ability to guide the young. But it doesn't stop us from trying.

So Jason, dream your baby dreams and enjoy your innocence. The world is out there. Just always remember, your grandparents, love you very much.

Love,

Maw Maw

I think that says it all, Abby. Although some things have slightly changed today, the same problems remain. The world is a complex place and it takes equally complex people to face the challenges that our future holds. Yours is the generation that may have to find a better way of doing things, Abby. But isn't this always true of every generation?

So I leave you with these words: Do not worry, Abby. Always be true to one person in life, and that is yourself. Respect others, especially those no one sees fit to respect. Love everyone, not just those who love you back. Be slow to speak, and quick to think. Be willing to make sacrifices and do not judge others. Most importantly, never lose hope even when it seems to have slipped away at times. That's the beauty of hope, you only lose it when you give it away.

I love you Abby, Mommy loves you, your grandparents love you and your great grandparents love you. We cherish every moment we get to spend with you because according to some, you never should have been. Isn't it wonderful to know, you've already beaten the odds!

Love,

Daddy

1 comment:

  1. That's fantastic you kept your grandmother's letter. Make sure you keep a hard copy of this in case the Y2K bug hits a decade or two late and your daughter can republish this telepathically (or however the new publishing format is in the 21st century).
    Congrats again on being a Dad!

    ReplyDelete