cards and gifts
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
I really can't believe how well we've made out with showers of cards and gifts. It reminds me of a story that my grandfather told.
He was a doctor, and had just delivered a baby girl. The father told my grandfather, "I'll never buy clothing for her."
As my grandfather put it, it was "in the days when we were supposed to start watching for signs of child abuse." So he asked, "how do you mean?"
The man told him, "This is the first girl on either side of the family. They'll be showering her with clothing for her whole life!"
The family's been bombarding us with gifts and clothes for much the same reason, I suspect. It's the first grandson on my side, and one of only a very few kids in the recent generation (I'd have to go to one of my second cousins -- a woman I haven't seen in 20 years -- to find some blood relations of my son's generation!).
Here's the text from a card from my dad & wicked step mother.
To Welcome Your New Baby BoyStart every day with a kiss and a hug.
Make sure that he's feeling all cozy and snug.
Smile at him, tickle him, cuddle and coo,
And soon he'll be smiling and laughing with you.
Share his discoveries, join in his play,
Watch how he changes with each passing day.
Enchant him with lullabies,
stories, and rhymes.
Delight in the closeness of these tender times.
Give him encouragement,
kindness, and praise,
And he'll grow in so many wonderful ways.
Teach him and guide him, and you'll find it's true...
That the one who'll be learning the most will be you!