My Baby's Birthday

The other night I was out with my friends and we were talking about spirituality and positive energy. There is a belief that signs are all around, you just have to be open to receiving them. One thing I believe in is that when a spirit leaves this world it is replaced. It happened when my sister felt her son kick as my grandpa was dying.

Today is my daughter's 8th birthday and I always think of the story behind her birth. My in-laws were the first to arrive at the hospital early in the morning. For some reason, I asked about their friend Anne in Appleton who was sick. My mother-in-law told me that they had recently been to visit her and basically they were just keeping her comfortable. She knew it would probably be their last visit.

When my in-laws returned home from visiting us in the hospital, there was a message on the machine letting them know that Anne had passed away during the night. We commented on how their souls probably passed one another. Later on my mother-in-law found out for the first time that Anne's real name was Irene Anne. It inspired her to write this poem:

Convergence

She lay in a warm cocoon
under her mother's heart,
lulled into security by the sound
of its life-affirming beat.
Though outside voices called her by name,
urging her entrance into their circle,
she was in no hurry to change,
choosing to delay her arrival
for reasons of her own.

Another also lay in warm comfort,
cushioned by loving hands,
nestled in familiar patterned folds
knit by her mother long ago.
After years of words and action,
she was silent...and content.
She had waited patiently, enduring much,
molding her final days as she had shaped her life...
with resolute courage.
Now she knew the time was ripe,
that she, and the beloved who held her in their hands,
were ready for her leave taking.
She breathed her last
and moved through the dark
into the light and arms she knew awaited her.

Her final love song to all life holds
was heard...and woke the little one
so hesitant to enter the world.
Suddenly she was ready...
and knowing the time was ripe,
eagerly began her own journey into the unknown.
With energy and wild enthusiasm,
with no regard for timing of others,
she rushed through the dark and erupted into the light,
shouting a personal song of triumph.

And both paens of joy
were heard and celebrated
as the two Irenes
made their presence known.

Happy Birthday my dear one.