Today, my friend DeDe will be giving birth to her second daughter. In fact, if all goes well and the doctor stays on schedule, Rebecca Grace should enter the world in about an hour. It's all so surreal.
DeDe has struggled through this pregnancy with even believing she was pregnant. She's joked about it, and laughed about it, but it was a serious feeling. Last week, she called me to come over to help her, and I couldn't have been more pleased. It had just occurred to her that she had less than a week left before having a newborn in the house, and the baby's bedding was not yet on the bed. (In her credit, absolutely everything else was washed, readied, hung, put together, and put away. It's so funny that when you're pregnant, one thing seems like so many.) I was glad to help because I still want to be this in her life, in Rebecca's life. I don't want the shadows of my past to be a factor in my exclusion, and fortunately, DeDe has never treated me that way and has never excluded me.
I teased her about her still not being convinced she would be having a baby this week. She was ironing a bed skirt while I was straightening a bed bumper, and she mentioned we didn't have to work, we could just hang out. Um, no, we couldn't. Fortunately, the decision was made to let the dry cleaners press the skirts, and we moved on to much more fun tasks, like putting up wall hangings and managing toy organization, and in that, we had lots of time to chat. We talked about our intertwined stories of pregnancy and loss, and remembered her baby Hope who would have turned one year old on Saturday (if born on her due date -- October 20, 2006). We considered how if Hope had not died, Rebecca likely would not have been pursued, and how odd it is to consider this coming baby in that light. We finished up, and she spent the weekend at the RV in an effort to see Bruce again before their family of three changed forever.
This morning I called DeDe just to check in and to let her know that I was praying. That woman is so funny. She and Bruce had just dropped Rachel off at school, and she was waiting in the car while Bruce was having his hair cut. I think they had a couple more errands to run before they popped over to the hospital to GIVE BIRTH! She was so nonchalant. I still do not think it has occurred to her just exactly what is on her agenda for this afternoon. At least she's peaceful -- that's a blessing.
I'm happy for my friend. I'm happy for her family. I'm happy that there's a good outcome to her pregnancy story. May abundant blessings be heaped on them today and always.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3
He maketh the barren woman to keep house,
and to be a joyful mother of children.
Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 113:9
Update: Rebecca Grace was born today (October 22, 2007) at 1:22 P.M. She weighs 7 pounds 1 oz, and is 20 1/2 inches long. She has ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes, and a headful of dark hair. Mommy and baby are both doing well, and are enjoying getting to know one another. Thank you, God.
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