Wow, I know a LOT of people pregnant or parents of newborns lately! Well, I guess with this recession, no one can afford to go out to movies any more.
Babies are so cool. I love to see pics posted on FB of all the cute things the kids are doing. I love visiting my friends with small children and getting my baby-and-toddler fix. I practically frame every note and wobbly drawing I receive from my nieces and nephews.
Yeah, sometimes it is a bit challenging to not get all teary when yet another friend announces an upcoming birth. It is a pain peculiar to the childless who always longed for children. Being joyfully happy and a wee bit sad at the same time can feel a bit crazy-making.
I'm not alone in this particular boat. None of us want to turn into a modern-day equivalent of Miss Haversham, but honesty is important, too. We certainly don't want our friends to feel afraid to share such delightful good news with us. Everyone in the world has to move toward acceptance of circumstances we wish were different, and the unwillingly childless are no different in that sense.
A handful of my married-with-children friends understand this -mostly the ones who have suffered through miscarriages or infant loss. They get that happiness and pain can go hand in hand -and in fact, as you advance through life, they often do.
The idea that can be difficult to convey, is that the happiness at the announcement of new humans to love is still real, still genuine, still joyful and with the greatest prayers for a multitude of a lifetime of blessings for them and their excited parents.
And really, it is that joyful hope that sustains us all.
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