Ada was born on a day not unlike any other. On that day, Maree got up early and got started on the household tasks. She woke up Joshua and David and told them to get ready for school. Then, while the boys were getting into their school uniforms, Maree prepared breakfast and made mental notes of all the other things she needed to do. Clean, water the plants, put away clothes, buy potat…
The kids burst out laughing. She was doing it again, lost in her thoughts and mumbling to herself. Maree laughed too and handed them their plates. She loved her kids so much. Watching them laugh brought her joy.
Once the boys were gone, Maree got started on cleaning the house. She turned on the radio, and while the morning news was being announced, she swept and mopped and dusted and organized. This was her morning routine. She did this every day, with much more glee now than before.
However, on this particular day, as if knowing what would happen later, Maree went into the room that would be Ada's. She wanted to make sure it was ready for the baby's arrival. The expecting mom checked the crib one more time, making sure it was sturdy and safe. Then, she sat in the rocking chair, thinking back to when the boys were little enough to fit in her arms. Some of the memories were painful, so she pushed them out of her mind.
When Maree finally got herself out of the rocking chair, she stood and looked around the quiet room with anticipation and fear. She thought about the nights she would spend in this very room holding her baby.
Still, there was no indication that this was the day on which Ada would enter their lives.
Her cheeks got warm, and her eyes welled with tears. For a moment, she was happy. But the memories kept coming back. Wiping the tears from her face, Maree walked out of the room and continued doing some housework.
After Maree was done putting away the boys’ clothes, she walked into the kitchen, puzzled. She knew she had forgotten something. She looked through the cupboards, searching for what she could not remember. What was it? She left the kitchen and returned again, determined to remember. Oh, yeah. The potatoes!
Earlier, Joshua and David had interrupted her right before adding “buy potatoes” to her mental list of things to do for the day. She laughed again and grabbed a few coins.
Maree set out to the neighborhood convenience store to gather the missing ingredients. When she arrived at the shop, she looked down at her belly and thought it looked bigger than ever and felt heavier than ever. That very short trip had made her exhausted. She got her potatoes and waited a little longer, trying to catch her breath. The young momma, determined to make it back home without stopping, wobbled back as quickly as she could.
Friday meals were time-consuming. They were a treat. A celebration of making it through another week.
Maree was standing in the kitchen peeling the potatoes when her water broke. But because she had done this before, she wasn't alarmed by the mass of water at her feet nor by the rush of adrenaline running through her body. Maree was excited. She knew that she would soon meet her child.
Holding the wet dress away from her body, Maree went out to her veranda and called out for Eri, her next-door neighbor and good friend.
She held her heavy belly and went back into the house to look for the hospital bag she had packed a couple of weeks ago.
As Maree was changing into another dress, Eri rushed into the house, looking alarmed. She took one glance at the wooden floor in the kitchen and knew what was happening. Panicking, Eri helped Maree gather her things. Within a few minutes, they were on their way to the hospital.
By the time the pair arrived at the hospital, Maree's contractions were closer together and more intense. Eri realized that her friend was in more pain than she wanted to show, so she held Maree and reassured her that it would all be okay. They were both thinking about the last visit to the hospital. Maree was taken in by the midwife to be prepped for delivery. The pain was intense, but she did not show her anguish.
It was time. As the midwife gave her instructions to bring her baby into the world, Maree clenched her fists and pushed when she was told to, letting out quiet sighs and groans. It was happening quickly.
She took a deep breath and tried again, harder than the first few times. And with this final push, Maree gave birth to her daughter, Ada.
“Congratulations, Maree! You have a baby girl.”
Ada came into the world quietly, taking her first breath and withholding her cry. The nurses took the baby to clean her up while the midwife took care of the afterbirth. But Maree's worry was becoming apparent, and the nurses saw that she was concerned by the silence, so they told her that the baby was healthy.
"She's perfect." The youngest nurse was elated. This was her first time assisting a midwife in bringing a child into the world. She kept talking to Maree. Meanwhile, the older nurses shook their heads and smiled. “She really is perfect, Miss,” she said again, trying not to cry in front of everyone.
Ada began to throw her arms around while she was being weighed. When Maree saw signs of life, her entire body relaxed.
"She's a little small. Just over four pounds, but she's healthy. Don't you worry." But Maree was still worried. She needed to hold Ada to quiet her mind. She needed something to happen to ease her growing anxiety.
There was a sound. One of the older nurses pat the baby on her bum again, and she finally started crying. And as Ada cried for the first time, Maree finally unclenched her fists and smiled.
Ada cried again, and this time the nurses took her to her mother.
Maree held her baby, giving her all the love she had to offer. "You're finally here," Maree whispered into Ada's ear, trying to hold back her tears. "I love you. I'll always love you."
Something special happens to mothers' hearts when they hold their newborn babies. And it happened to Maree. She became someone's mother again. And again, she did not know that it was possible to love so intensely. But she did.
Ada was her mother's fourth child. Maree had had three boys she loved dearly, Joshua, David, and Eric. But she had always longed to have a daughter.
Looking down at her little girl, Maree's heart finally felt whole.
chapter 2...
