Becoming a mother is the most significant change a woman ever makes in her life, far greater than finding a mate or choosing a career. Motherhood is, without a doubt, the most intimate connection one human being has to another. Most people know what it is like to fall in love but unless you have had a baby, you have no clue about what it means to love someone so completely that you would be willing to give up your life.
On the twentieth day of April at approximately twelve noon, a beautiful healthy baby boy came into our life. A miracle blessing directly from heaven was the beginning of the first day of the rest of my life.
At the innocent age of six I dreamt of becoming a mommy someday. One day I asked my mother if boys could have babies. She said, “No honey, God made girls to have babies." My mother had no idea what her revelation meant to me. Always happy to be female, the happiness intensified after becoming aware of the reality of one day, growing up, getting married, and having a baby. A favorite pass-time was pretending to be a mommy.
We were a family of six, mom, dad, three girls, and one boy. Our family was financially disadvantaged. My parents did not have money to spend on toys. Therefore, our dolls looked a lot different from ones purchased from a toy store. Our baby dolls were homemade. The first doll we ever owned was made by using a glass Coca Cola bottle and thick heavy rope made from straw. The bottles were bodies for the dolls and the straw was the doll’s hair. We became collectors of empty Coca Cola bottles because we saw each bottle as a potential baby doll.
People who worked in what was then, referred to as an icehouse used heavy rope made from straw to carry blocks of ice that were then, delivered to customers. My parents bought ice about three times a week because we did not own a refrigerator. We owned what we called, an icebox. Our meats were stored in this icebox. Large blocks of ice kept our meats from spoiling. When our father took rope from the blocks of ice, we used it to make hair for our dolls. When this thick heavy rope was unraveled and combed together, it resembled thick blonde hair. We took the rope and cut it into six equal pieces about four inches in length. One end of the rope stuffed into the neck of the Coca Cola bottle. It was stuffed tightly and sealed around the bottle neck with tape from our father’s tool box.
We would then unravel the straw, blend it all together, wash, comb and style it. Using charcoal to make faces for our dolls, we dressed them with old discarded socks. Our dolls were so pretty when We finished grooming them. We played for hours with those homemade baby dolls.
We lived in a neighborhood where the top priority of families was keeping a roof over their heads and food in their mouths. There was never any money for toys or other frills. The boys in our community used sticks for bats and rocks for balls. Male parents who had the time would build toy cars for their sons using wood pieces and lids from what was referred to as Mason jars. I never knew why they were called Mason jars.
My sister and I made many dolls from cola bottles and straw for little girls in our neighborhood, especially for birthdays and at Christmas time.
When I became a teenager, I also became the neighborhood baby sitter. I loved caring for children of all ages, but babies were my favorite.
Upon graduation from High School, I received a scholarship to a local college. During my Sophomore year I began dating a very nice young man. We fell in love and decided to get married as soon as we graduated from college. We both worked and saved our money to buy our first home and begin our life together.
Life was wonderful and I was on top of the world because of a special dream I had of bringing a beautiful baby into the world. I was anxious to experience the joy of childbirth.
After many years of waiting and dreaming, the day finally arrived when a life-long dream was becoming a reality. After many month of trying to become pregnant, I went for a check-up and learned that I was pregnant. The months seemed to pass by very slowly. I talked and sang to the precious angel growing inside of me constantly.
Married to a wonderful husband and waiting to hold our baby in our arms for the very first time, made life so precious. When the water broke the anticipation intensified. Physically and emotionally prepared for motherhood, tears flowed.
We gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and entered this phase of life beaming with confidence. The experience of a beautiful delivery with a delayed cord clamped so that the baby could rest on the abdomen was an experience that will be cherish forever. Feeling a real true-to-life baby’s heartbeat against the abdomen for the first time is totally, overwhelming.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where God’s perfect creation, a precious baby, is not always welcomed into the world with jubilation. Many babies conceived in their mothers wombs, are not welcomed into their mother’s hearts. Their God given rights are in jeopardy. Some women stand firm on the premise of a woman’s right to choose abortion. God gave us a right to choose when he gave us a free will.
However, when a woman conceives and considers abortion she is selfishly, taking away her baby’s right to choose life or death. She takes away her baby’s God given, free will. That is an injustice to her unborn baby. A right to choose by giving a child a right to live is an unforgettable experience.
