Sophie's Birthday

Sophie turns 17 today.

It seems as if much has happened since her birth.

Those few weeks before she was born (she was born well past her due date) are etched into my memory. I would go almost daily to the Baltimore Birth Clinic so they could monitor the baby's heartbeat. It meant a drive down Northern Parkway to Park Heights Avenue to the square brick birth center. The birth center was in an orthodox Jewish community of large old houses. Sometimes I would see women in long skirts with their babies and toddlers. The neighborhood always seemed leafy and peaceful, even though it bordered one of the worst neighborhoods in Baltimore. Even back then, I instinctively recognized that there was something good about living in a community where you could walk on the Sabbath to the synagogue.

Though I wanted a natural childbirth, I went over the alloted time past my due date and into the supposed "high risk" zone. So I ended up giving birth with my midwife (and Roger of course) at Sinai hospital. I was born in the old Sinai hospital, which was torn down shortly after my birth. I felt an extra sense of connection with Sophie, a sense of homecoming, because we born in the "same" hospital.

Of course, nothing in life is quite as overwhelming as the birth of your first born. I couldn't get over that perfect baby coming into being.

Sophie now is a wonderful young woman, strong and resilient. She is very much her own person. Right now, she manages her own life of working at a deli, dog-sitting, baby-sitting, dance camp, seeing her friends and driver's ed quite well. We're able to trust her at home when we go to Barnesville for the weekend. She loves people and dance and wants to be a preschool teacher when she grows up. We're very glad she's agreed to come with us to Barnesville and attend Olney.