A Healthy Baby Boy!
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes, 26 seconds
Jan Becomes a Mother Again
We Become a Family of Four
“You have a beautiful, healthy baby boy,” said the Midwife. Jan was smiling and squeezing my right hand so hard I was afraid she would cut off the circulation. I looked at the clock on the wall. “My sweetheart, It’s four am! I am glad we left the house when we did.”
As the Midwife handed me our second son, she said, “If you had waited any longer, he would have been born in the car.”
Now that I had two hands again, I kissed our son and then handed him to Jan; I looked into her eyes and said, “I love you! I love Jon! I love our new son!”
The Midwife looked at us and smiled.
“I don’t want to interrupt, but do you have a name for the baby boy?”
“Do you want the name his brother suggested? Or the one we picked?”
Jan laughed, “No, not Jon’s choice!”
I turned to the nurse as we said, in unison, “Michael Jacob!”
Are We Ready for a Second Child?
“Why can you always get Jon to fall asleep, and I can’t,” Jan asked. I quietly walked into the living room of our house on Sterling Street in Prospect Lefferts Gardens to ensure that the sleeping child did not wake up.
I shrugged my shoulders as I sat next to her on the couch.
“All I do is shower him with love the same way I love you.”
Jan laughed, and I kissed her sweet lips to ensure her laughter did not wake Jon up.
“Well, you love me a lot, so I am sure it helps. But women are supposed to have a mothering instinct and know-how to take care of babies without thinking.”
“You are a great Mom,” I said as I tried to put my thoughts into words.
After what was no more than a minute but had seemed like hours, my words had become sentences.
“My love, from the day we met, we have loved each other as equals and broken one barrier after another not to be whom the world wants us to be but to be the best lovers and partners we can be. Maybe I was better at putting him to bed tonight, but you will be the one tomorrow. Our love is special. It always has been and always will.”
Jan reached over and hugged me. We kissed as if it was the first time.
“How was I so fortunate to find the best husband?”
“You are the best wife I could have ever had. I am an average husband, but we are perfect for each other!”
Jan’s smile filled the room with happiness.
I looked at her water glass and offered to refill it.
“A toast,” I said as I tapped her glass with mine.
“My love, except for the mortgage, we have paid off all the other debts, cheers!”
“I’ll drink to that with pleasure!”
I sipped my water and tried to look relaxed.
Jan picked up on my awkwardness and asked, “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”
“We are in love, happy, have stable jobs, no debts, the house is in good repair, maybe this is the time….”
Jan responded before I could finish, “To have a second child?”
I nodded my head affirmatively and waited for Jan to respond.
“It’s a big decision, but we are not getting any younger.”
She was quiet for a few minutes, but I could tell she was thinking.
“If we want to have a second child, next year might be the best time,” I interjected.
Jan smiled, and I responded with a smile.
“I wouldn’t want to be any older for a second pregnancy….”
I waited patiently for Jan to finish.
“Yes, let’s have another baby.”
I hugged Jan and kissed her lips passionately.
“Looks like you are ready to start making a baby now.”
I blushed and started to answer, but Jan spoke, “I love you! I want to have another child with you, and now is as good a time as any to start.”
After almost 48 years, I recently lost my wife, Jan Lilien. Like The Little Prince, Jan and I believed that “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.” This blog is a collection of my random thoughts on love, grief, life, and all things considered.
What a great way to remember Your dear wife! I will spend some time reading past articles. Keep going, Richard! Great job!!!
Hugo, thank you so very much for your kind words.
I write from my heart about Jan. The words flow like fresh honey.
As Helen Keller wrote,
“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
Let me know if you find other articles of interest and feel free to share the newsletter with anyone you believe might enjoy reading it.