It was a red-hot day in June—a preview of summer’s sweltering attractions. I looked at my reflection as I made my way through the glass doors of the hospital. It was the day that I had been waiting nine months for and yet, strangely enough, I wondered if I was ready.
I stayed for a little while but it seemed as if it was not quite my time. So I headed back to the car, only to make a return trip to the hospital within a couple of hours.
For the next 36 hours, I played a waiting game. My ever-patient ob/gyn seemed non-plussed at the tardiness of my delivery.
When Baby G. finally appeared, I apologized to her for the fact that the labor had taken so long. She cried—a good, healthy cry—and she was placed into my waiting arms.
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And nothing would ever be the same again—something for which I will be forever grateful.
Nothing before or since has ever topped that moment—although I must admit, the christening came close. In her satin dress, she looked like a miniature bride with a tuft of strawberry-blonde hair crowning her head. I had never seen someone so beautiful.
And so, every June, I celebrate her life, a life which brought me my motherhood. It is the event for which I am most thankful. She added so much to my life—ballet rehearsals and swim classes, story time and make-believe tea parties. And she did it with the most beautiful smile on her face.
If only every pregnant woman could see ahead to when a son or daughter is five years old, filling her days with unbridled joy and laughter. If only she could board a time machine and see the dances, the graduations, the weddings which would be part of that child’s future. If only she could see how she could make room for the unexpected.
It is up to each one of us to help pregnant women see that amazing story of triumph over difficult circumstances that lies within each one of them—the happy ending that comes with a child’s birth. The gift of motherhood is incomparable, begins at conception, and should be celebrated and revered throughout a woman’s life!
It’s the lesson Baby G. taught me, and one I continue to treasure to this day.
LifeNews.com Note: Maria Gallagher is the Legislative Director and Political Action Committee Director for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and she has written and reported for various broadcast and print media outlets, including National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and AP Radio.
