I went to Joanna’s baby shower today. She’s due at the beginning of June. Watching her open all the wonderful gifts, I thought back to the baby shower my colleagues gave me when I was pregnant with my son, Colby, now 31. I realized that no matter how much the world has changed in three decades, celebrating the imminent arrival of babies is done exactly the same way.
Sure, some of Joanna’s gifts were newfangled inventions for today’s new moms, including a fabric contraption with Velcro to swaddle the baby and a breastfeeding pillow to nestle him and free Joanna’s arms. But the onesies, the books (Green Eggs and Ham), the booties and the wooden pull toys are as pure and warm and charming as they were when Colby was a babe.
Joanna’s friends buzzed about the same things my friends and I buzzed about back in the day: how unreal it all seems, how soft the baby towels feel and how much her baby will love the Itsy Bitsy Spider song (one of Joanna’s friends creatively stamped out the words on a poster-sized piece of paper and framed it.)
Today had even more meaning because Joanna and my son, Colby, are close friends. Someday their children will have babies and they’ll likely be as nostalgic as I am right now. FOF nostalgia, let’s call it.
Life’s continuum is comforting and awe inspiring in the same moment.
P.S. The photo comes from Joanna’s wildly popular blog, A Cup of Jo.
0 Responses to “Showered with love”
jean says:
It was a lovely, lovely shower and wonderful to see such a dynamic group of young women trading baby stories, providing support and sharing the joy of a new arrival. I didn’t have a shower myself, but this one seemed like an warm initiation into the club of motherhood. It was great to see you again, Geri!
She was keeping the name secret from readers…one of the few things she was keeping to herself. Unless she told you to go for it, you might want to change it. I think Alex was not too keen on that.
In haze of 1.30am…something like when I wrote to her & said, “Oh Lord keep something for yourselves, TMI, people are weird, stalkery type stuff, etc.” Then she mentioned on the blog, after far too many (IMNSHO) intrusive ?s about the name something about Alex wanting to keep it it to themselves….most people seem to have laid off asking every single detail. I didn’t mean to imply I had knowledge of anything but that one thing…anyway, it’s late. For all I know she’s going to announce it tomorrow in COJ. You coulda had a scoop…I don’t want to take it away from you:)
0 Responses to “Showered with love”
jean says:
It was a lovely, lovely shower and wonderful to see such a dynamic group of young women trading baby stories, providing support and sharing the joy of a new arrival. I didn’t have a shower myself, but this one seemed like an warm initiation into the club of motherhood. It was great to see you again, Geri!
Susan says:
She was keeping the name secret from readers…one of the few things she was keeping to herself. Unless she told you to go for it, you might want to change it. I think Alex was not too keen on that.
Geri says:
Changed it. What wasn’t Alex keen on?
Susan says:
In haze of 1.30am…something like when I wrote to her & said, “Oh Lord keep something for yourselves, TMI, people are weird, stalkery type stuff, etc.” Then she mentioned on the blog, after far too many (IMNSHO) intrusive ?s about the name something about Alex wanting to keep it it to themselves….most people seem to have laid off asking every single detail. I didn’t mean to imply I had knowledge of anything but that one thing…anyway, it’s late. For all I know she’s going to announce it tomorrow in COJ. You coulda had a scoop…I don’t want to take it away from you:)
cheers
PS: Sounds like you had a great time…very glad.