Thank you for this reflection. I loved hearing about your grandmothers and how you (and Hannah) carry them forward. In Judaism when a kid is named after an ancestor there is a strong tradition of cultivating in the kid the awareness that they are carrying on the positive legacy of their namesake. It's more than just honoring the ancestor, but a torch one carries so that the ancestor lives on in blessed memory. I've always loved this. Your description of those precious early days of parenthood also resonated with me. Henry was born early and spent the first 8 days in the hospital. They turned out to be such precious time with nothing to do but sit with him and love him...everything reduced to just loving and being present. How many times do we get that in our lives? When those we care for are born and die. That seems to be mostly it.
Thank you for this reflection. I loved hearing about your grandmothers and how you (and Hannah) carry them forward. In Judaism when a kid is named after an ancestor there is a strong tradition of cultivating in the kid the awareness that they are carrying on the positive legacy of their namesake. It's more than just honoring the ancestor, but a torch one carries so that the ancestor lives on in blessed memory. I've always loved this. Your description of those precious early days of parenthood also resonated with me. Henry was born early and spent the first 8 days in the hospital. They turned out to be such precious time with nothing to do but sit with him and love him...everything reduced to just loving and being present. How many times do we get that in our lives? When those we care for are born and die. That seems to be mostly it.