Meeting Oliver

Last week David and I were thrilled to meet and cuddle nine-day old Oliver. Oliver, all legs and arms, all warmth and wonder. Like a rose bud, slowly unfurling from months in the womb. 

Yes, newborns arrive every day and everywhere. Still each child is so precious and unique. To be in the midst of a newborn’s breath is to experience the power of love… to be captivated at the universal wonder of life. As a friend recently said, “You look into their deep eyes and you can see where they came from.”

Caress a newborn’s head and it is as if you are caressing life itself. As if we are connecting to all that is pure and holy, connecting to generations long past.

At no other age are we examined so closely searching for familiarity. We examine fingers and toes. Yes. All there. Fingers and toes that seem to have a mind of their own… as if they don’t know which way to point. 

We search for family features. Dark steel eyes - must be like his father. Lose ear lobes - must be like his mother. Skin tone must be dads.

Newborns hold centre stage… as they should. For they are so very fragile and dependent on others for life itself. They can make old people fumble and new parents jump at every sound. Yet they are equipped with profoundly powerful systems to ensure their survival - big eyes, soft skin, chubby cheeks, and the intoxicating smell of a baby’s head - almost better than fresh baked bread - all the wonders that make our hearts melt and compel parents to care for them despite sleepless nights, explosive diapers and spit up over every shoulder. 

Hold a newborn and even the Gringiest of Gringes hearts will grow ten times in size. 

Not only did we meet Oliver, we met his ‘new‘ parents - ones we have known but not as parents - transformed by this new bundle of ‘love.’ Confident mature parents filled with uncertainty, trying to do the right thing, trying to understand their infant’s needs when the only communication is a grunt or a cry. 

Parents who gaze in wonder at this tiny bundle of humanity, who disrupts their sleep, and any semblance of an ordered life of schedules. Parents who touch and stroke, who rock and comfort this new being. Parents who sit in wonder and awe at the daily changes. 

For as a friend once said about her child, “I finally met the person I would give my life for.”

In their love for this squirming bundle of hope for the world - real, intense and enduring - Oliver knows a mystical love that surpasses all understanding. 

What a wonderful early Christmas gift!

In Peace,

Elizabeth

elizstevenson@gmail.com

506-650-4812