On the Mend

It was finally evening. Night had fallen on the day that opened with the tragic death of an infant which nearly ripped my heart from me (see previous post). My wife had taken care of my fragil spirit and now our new friends were doing the same with a warm meal in their apartment, one building over from ours.

Tom and Cynthia are parents of an almost 1 year old cute sweety pie named Lydia (link for picture). And Lydia was finishing up her evening bath when I was asked if I'd like to put her to bed. Already being one of Lydia's biggest fans, I accepted the offer not knowing that my wife and Cynthia had been kniving in order to further care for my saddened heart.

With some instruction they left me in a dark room with precious Lydia who absolutely loves to play peek-a-boo. Wrapped up in my arms we sat in a rocking chair together fifteen minutes as she downed a bottle of formula making an adorable grunting sound with each swallow. (Dinner right before bed? I'm jealous!)

Her little eyes opened and closed at me as they fought tiredness; and her tiny fingers grasped one of my fingers and then the bottle and then the pasifier. For fifteen minutes she warmed my heart just by eating, and grunting, and being tiny. She finished her meal and I put her in the crib, my heart a bit warmer and spirits somehow on the mend.

My day began by watching a baby pass into the great unknown we call death, and it ended by putting an endering dear baby to bed with a bottle. I witnessed a parent's worst nightmare come true, and I put to sleep two parents' beloved child who holds so many hopes and dreams. In the morning, when light was brightening my side of the earth I witnessed the deepest darkness. And in a dark room feeding a toddler I saw light.

Thank you Heather, Cynthia, Tom and little Lydia. Together, you somehow managed to bring me healing and hope once again.