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Dear Howeberry: Hold on, baby, hold on

Howeberry ultrasound photo

Today is my sister’s due date As I write this there are 39 minutes left of Sunday, November 21st Eastern time and baby is still well inside.

“Hold on, baby, hold on.” Every text message and email that my Mom sends is signed that way. My husband and I are already here in New Jersey, but Mom and Dad don’t fly in from Seattle until Wednesday night. We’re playing baby roulette, and according to the midwives and other stories about when first babies come due, the cards are in our favor.

Dear Howeberry,

Today is your due date, but seeing how there are a few minutes left until midnight and your mama is not showing any signs, it seems as though we’ll have to wait another few days until we see you. And that’s okay. Your grandma won’t be here until Wednesday and she’d really like you to wait for her. I’d like you to wait for her, too.

You are the first grandbaby in both of our families and there are so many people who already love you. When your mom first told me that she expecting you it was by phone while I was stuck in horrible traffic.

She asked what my plans were for Thanksgiving. You see it was March and November was not in my immediate plans.

“Um, I don’t know.”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come out here for Thanksgiving and cook a turkey again.”

You see, I had just hosted everyone at my house and cooked my first and apparently the most amazing turkey ever. Plus this was an extremely strange question. Why would I go out to her house and cook her a turkey?

I may have said something like, “Why would I do that?” or nothing at all.

To which, your mama replied, “Because I might have something to show you in, say nine months.”

Nine months? Like what a kitchen remodel—oh wait… And then it clicked: you were that “something” she wanted to show me.

At the time you were about 6 or 7 weeks old and the size of a blueberry. That’s how you got your nickname, Howeberry, because you were the size of a little Howe-berry.

I have no idea if the name will stick. I’ve thought up all sorts of nicknames for you over the past few months, none of which I’ve shared with your mama because we still don’t know if you’re a boy or a girl yet. What we do know is that you’ll arrive with a full set of hair, a nose like your mom, and probably a smile like your dad. I really hope you get your mom’s eyes, because they’re Pratt eyes and are absolutely beautiful when she smiles.

I have known your mama for my entire life. She’s one of the most important people in it. Ever since she became pregnant she has changed. She’s the happiest I’ve seen in her entire life. She has this glow that carries across in photographs. And she’s confident like I’ve never seen before.

I hope that when you arrive and as you grow up you keep making her happy, because that’s all that I want for my big sister. I want to see her glowing in that way every single day.

There are so many people in this world who already love you, and I cannot wait to see the person that you become and the kind of parents your mama and your daddy turn into. And I’ll be here with uncle John to spoil you as much as we can. You’re the first grandbaby in the family, on both sides, and we are all so excited to meet you.

But hold on, baby, hold on.

With more love than you’ll know,
Auntie Laura

Update: Lucius James (aka Howeberry) was born on Saturday, December 4th at 10:45pm and I already can’t remember what life was like before he was in our family.

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