Roots and Branches of Support at Birth and Death

Who are your roots and branches of support, from your first breath to your last ?

Chapter 9 in Live and Die Awake, on Love, Loss and Living Fully (releasing Nov.4th, preorder at liveanddieawake.com) is entitled, Roots and Branches of Support.

As I birth my book into the world, I’ve been thinking a great deal about this Chapter and how we gather for one another in our day-to-day lives.

When a baby is about to be born, we gather with immense joy and great anticipation. We plan baby showers months in advance, bringing gifts, preparing meals, and surrounding new parents with love. We welcome a new life into the world with open hearts and we celebrate.

I remember Jim holding Jacob when he was born, our first son. That memory is seared into my brain as if I sketched each stroke as if that moment was an oil painting that I took years to perfect each stroke. The etching of this image lives within my soul.

I remember the exuberance and wonder as we gazed into each other’s eyes, having the blessing of becoming parents together. I cry now, literally, as the image is so vivid and I somatically still feel the exchange of witnessing this miracle. We, with the help of my sister and nurse, aunt Devra, and Jim’s dad, my father-in-law, and a beloved obstetrics surgeon at Hershey Medical, was sitting right outside my room as I screamed profanities, until we all eventually held this little human being, Jacob Ian, that I birthed into the world.