Wednesday, August 07, 2013

On Welcoming Babies

My friend Rita just had her seventh child.

And her sixth boy.

At age 43.

I found it inspiring how she and her family welcomed this baby.  True, it took a bit of time to get used to the idea, but they adjusted to the surprise and now they love that baby to pieces.

The church threw a shower for little Adrian, and Rita's mom, Juanita, told us that Rita is following in the family tradition.  Rita, Juanita, and Juanita's mom all had their seventh baby at age 43.

That was the point where Rita turned to her newly-engaged daughter, Kayla, and said, "Watch out!"

We all laughed.

What a legacy.

I was my mom's fifth baby, and sometimes I think of how amazing it is how she always made me feel like I was a welcomed child.

I didn't think about this until I was an adult and did the math.  Mom had married at the age of 34 and then had three boys, one girl (my older sister, Rebecca), and one miscarriage in 7 years.

Mom had lots of reasons to not want more children just then.  She was past 40, they were poor, she was incredibly busy.

But three months after Rebecca was born, she was pregnant with me.

That Christmas, she used to tell me, she and Dad hosted the family Christmas gathering.  After the dishes were done she had a little tea party with her sister Vina, her mom, and the sisters-in-law.  Under every saucer, Mom put a little paper on which she had written:

"Yes, it's true.
Baby Yoder due
1962."

Mom always looked happy when she told this story.  Like Rita's little Adrian, I am blessed.

6 comments:

  1. What a sweet story! (I found this via Mary Ann Yutzy's FB comment.)

    My young parents had three children, each a year apart, in the first few years of their marriage. Then I came along 4 1/2 years later. It always made me happy to hear my mother say how happy she was to be expecting me, because she had been worried that she'd have just three children. Turns out she had eight children, seven of them girls, and we sisters are best friends even across a span of many years and many miles.

    On a funny note, Mother told us that the single lady who was the "nurse" after each of her first three home births, told her after baby number three, "Well, Mabel, you'd better make Paul sleep under the bed!" Maybe that's why a few years passed before my conception, haha!

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  2. This is beautiful. I love the joy that surrounds a new life being born! And it's also a good reminder to look at other people's lives and decisions with respect and joy instead of criticism.

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  3. Aw, that's such a great story!

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  4. I'm not following a tradition that I know of, but my 7th child was born when I was 43, but she was born on the other side of the world, we got together when I was 45.Maybe it is a tradition...my aunts had babies in their 40's. My SIL is expecting her 11th in 22-23 years...my brother called and announced it with this statement "did you know that grandmas can have babies too"...she is a grandmother of one.

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  5. Love it! Beautiful story :)

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  6. I had my 9th one at age 48. We cannot imagine how we ever did without her. When people would say to me, "I am glad it's you and not me, I would reply, Me too!" We have been so blessed. :-)

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