To my dearest Adeleke on your 2nd birthday:

Sometimes I wonder why you came so soon. Though your birth was at full term, your father and I had barely been married three months before we discovered on Thanksgiving night that we would have a little more to be thankful for. We were both somewhere between shock and disbelief. You see, your father and I are both artists. We were both hitting the ground running trying to make connections to establish our careers as well as our lives as husband and wife.

So there we were trying to make a life together with a new life growing inside of me. Sometimes life was just as much hopeful as it was stressful.  I mean , were we really ready to be your parents? Didn’t God know that there were a few things we wanted to have in line with our own lives before we ushered in another one?   Finances , foundation , faith and figuring out careers, these were all things that would be drastically rearranged! Buuut, Granny was excited. She was in the hospital when I gave her the news that she would be a great-great grandmother. She was tickled to see me pregnant with you. She had dreams about how you would look and you peeping around the corner in the house I grew up in . She was tickled to rub my every growing belly. Things started to make sense. The 5th generation was coming sooner than expected, but it was coming…  And then she died when I was carrying you in my 5th month.  There was the devastation of loss combined with the hope of new life. It was a roller coaster.

A few months later you arrived like a quiet force. Everyone was delighted to see you! People drove overnight, took trains and flew in just to witness you!  Your life added sweetness to so many lives. For your middle name, we chose Adedoyin meaning “the crown becomes honey”.

I am no longer consumed with the “what ifs” ( we had waited a little longer)  and “if onlys” ( we had a little more in order when you were born) . I am confident in “what is”.  You, my love have been created for such a time as this.

The past few months have been full of me smothering you with kisses. Subconsciously ,I believe that  each kiss will somehow persuade time to slow down . You are growing up so very fast. You are so extremely resilient and joyful that it is a wonder to watch.  You shriek with delight and with your quick feet do your happy dance. You clap when your father and I return home as if it warrants a celebration. You laugh at laughter which breeds more giggles. You are the very best parts of me, of life, of us. You have been the joy in the mourning.

As we prepare to celebrate your 2nd year of birth on a hot day at the zoo, I pray many things for you. I pray that you will accept your natural gifts  with sincere humility .  I pray that you will understand that you are of a royal breed. The crown does not only exist in the translation of your name. It is the very essence of who you are. I pray you are not tangled in whatever weaknesses you may possess. They are there to remind you to depend on the one who has created you and loved you from the start.  I pray that you will always be surrounded by  the love and light of friends and family no matter where you are. Lastly, I pray that you always make it home safely.

Mommy loves you, Sweetface
Mommy and Daddy love you