Roots

Ryan and I are both so blessed by our families. Being Memorial Day, I got to spend time with my dad, sister, brother-in-law, cousins, and my G who is a veteran of World War II. He is such an example of love and self-sacrifice that it's no surprise all four of his children live within 5 miles of him.

The weather could not have been nicer for our three-day weekend. We got to spend a lot of time outside! Ryan's family is originally from Italy, and one of the richest parts of their heritage to be passed down is a love for growing plants. Each year, Ryan handles almost all outdoor yard and garden work and I am constantly learning from him that which he has learned from his family. One of his prides is his fig tree, which was an offshoot of one from his grandma, with the original tree being from Italy. He successfully multiplied the plant last year, and this spring started two additional plants.  

Last week at our birthing class the welcome question was: What are you most looking forward to about having your baby? The room stayed silent for a few uncomfortable seconds. Doubtful that people had nothing to say, I'm sure we were all narrowing down our long lists to something shareable in a minute or two. 

My response was teaching our child how to read and surrounding it with rich language. As a linguist and a language teacher, that's what hit me first. But as the week went on, Ryan and I kept thinking of other things we could have said. What are we excited for? 

Well (among other things): 

Counting ten little fingers and ten little toes

Seeing our baby smile and hearing his/her laugh

Spoiling our baby with love, positivity, and encouragement

Doing our best at being godly parents who instill faith and values

Family vacations

Experiencing nature together

Watching Ryan be a father

There's a quote I love that goes like this: There are two last bequests we can give our children: One is roots, the other is wings" (Hodding Carter). 

What am I most looking forward to? To sum it up, I'm looking forward to giving our baby roots.