A 4th letter to my unborn daughter

March 22, 2012

Dear Babygirl,

Remember when I told you the dream that Daddy had about you the other day? The one where you spoke your first word at a genius-level age of 3 months old and that that first word wasn’t just Dada or doggie, but rigamarole?

Hehee. It still makes me laugh.

Well, I had a dream about you the other day, too.

I don’t remember anything about it. What I was doing, what you were doing, where we were – no recollection.

What I do remember, however, is that wherever we were and whatever we were doing, I had called you by name. As in, a very specific, this was your name name and I had called you by it.

Let me explain to you the importance of this occasion. But first, a little background information.

You have two, amazing grandmothers. Your Grandma S is a grandma five times over already, you will be grandbaby number six for her. That doesn’t make any difference, of course, she is just as elated to meet you as she was with your five cousins that came before you. However, that experience has given her a certain amount of, well, I guess it’d beā€¦patience.

Your other grandma, Grandma P, is a first-timer. You are her grandbaby numero uno. You will be ushering her into a new stage of life, a much anticipated one, I might add, and she is also elated at your impending arrival.

But there’s something more than that, it’s not just excitement about meeting you. She is a bit above and beyond that point.

She is practically melting away with her impatience at knowing anything and everything about you.

She wants to meet you. She wants to hold you. She wants to compare me to herself 31 years ago and you to me when I was her babygirl and spoil you to pieces. She wants to know what color your eyes will be and how curly your hair turns out and if you’ll be a pink-loving girly girl like her other daughter, your aunt, or a stubborn tomboy like your Mama.

But most of all, Babygirl, Grandma P wants to know your name. Ho boy does she ever want to know your name.

But here’s the thing: Daddy and I don’t even know your name! But we do have a list. THE list. And on that list contains our top three names for you, one of which we’re hoping will either rise to the surface before you arrive, or be apparently The Name the moment you arrive.

Grandma P would move mountains to get a hold of this list. In fact, I would be worried to ever tell her that it was written on our whiteboard in the office or scribbled on a page in my journal, as she just might hop into the car, show up at our doorstep three hours later, and start charging through the house.

(Don’t you dare, Mama.)

So you can imagine my surprise, and then my delight, when I realized that I dreamt about one of the three names on that list. Maybe it was a sign. Maybe that name is our favorite and we just didn’t know it? Maybe that’s what you are meant to be called?

We’re not sure. But either way, just don’t tell your grandmother.

If she calls, put her out of her misery and simply tell her we’ve decided to name you Annie Jr.

I know she likes that one, after all.

Love,
Mama

I seem to have sparked a series with these letters to Babygirl. Here are the others:
A letter to my unborn daughter
Another letter to my unborn daughter
Yet another letter to my unborn daughter

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