Beckham is a Blessing

Doug and I feel profoundly lucky to have been able to experience the joy of another grandchild.  Grandparents out there – you know.  You know the joy and excitement; the wonder of a new life that is connected to you; the sharing of more love; watching your children grow and expand to handle their new responsibility.  You know.  But you also know the worry that creeps in.  The fear.  This tiny life is so fragile. And the world has so many pitfalls and dangers.

So, we opened our hearts and tightly tucked in the love of our new Beckham Daniel Tucker.  He was born at 10:15 pm on Friday, September 11, 2020.  Julie’s water broke before 6 am that morning.  Her previous births were fast so we moved quickly after we  got the call, jumped out of bed, threw on our clothes, grabbed our already packed bags and drove carefully but as fast as possible the 40 minutes to her house.  Julie and Jake were calmly waiting.   No contractions – but they left for the hospital anyway.  With fires everywhere, we were all concerned about detours and strange traffic patterns. 

Paisley and Griffin got up about an hour later and greeted us with smiles and no worries that their parents were gone.  Jake and Julie had prepared them well.  We went through their usual routine:  a few hours of pre-school, playtime, meals, a nice nap and then bedtime – a little too much playing and talking before they finally fell asleep but no tears, so it was good.

Beckham was taking a long time to arrive, but all seemed well.  Finally, he was born.  It took another hour or more for photos.  Skin time with Mommy and Baby was much more important.  And then the photo of the sweetest butt we have ever seen.

A few more hours and we heard that Julie and Beckham had had their final test, and both had good blood sugars.  Julie could eat normally again; and Beckham was a very healthy 8 pounds 1 ounce and about 21 inches long.  They settled in for hours of much interrupted hospital “non-sleep” and convinced the nursing staff to let them go home as soon as possible. They left the hospital a little before 10 pm on Saturday night. 

Beckham has round chubby cheeks; a little bit of dark hair; a perfect baby face and body.  Oh, he is adorable and very chill.  But, you know, they are always chill in the hospital.  They are chill for a day or two when they come home and then they get all charged up and start to really be the babies they are going to be for months to come.  We don’t know yet the personality, the quirks of this baby.  We just know how cute and cuddly he is.

Paisley and Griffin greeted him the next morning.  They were both a little shy at first but warmed up after a few hours.  Rosie, their neurotic dog, who had been wandering around the house for two days looking for Julie, saw them come in with another baby!  Oh no, she thought, more trouble!  Paisley is sweet with Rosie.  Griffin loves her – a little too hard.  And now another little guy.  Poor Rosie.

So here we are with our seventh grandchild.  Our fifth grandson.  Our lucky number seven.

This child needs to be lucky.  He needs to get all the blessings we can pile on him.  He is blessed to be welcomed into a loving home with two wonderful parents, a sweet older sister, an active fun older brother.  Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends – a whole bunch of very loving people surrounding him. But this child, all children born now, need more than the usual amount of blessings.

A LOVE LETTER TO BECKHAM FROM HIS NANA:

This child was born on September 11^th.  A day of remembrance, of sadness, of the memories of fear.  He comes on this day, but he represents the world after 9/11.  For him, please, let the horror of that day be some foggy knowledge that is the underpinnings of the spirit of America that lived in the days that followed – patriotism and pride and hope.

This child was born during the worst pandemic this world has seen.  Even his hospital experience was unique.  He won’t be meeting most of his family for a long time.  Photos taken during the days before and after his birth will feature masked people.  Headlines on the day he was born speak of death by COVID.  For him, please, let his life be about health.

This child was born while we gather and protest so that Black Lives Matter.  And WHEN Black Lives Matter, we will make sure all lives matter.  For him, please, let this unrest bring the equality our country has always professed to have.  For him, let it be.

This child was born during the most divisive period in our nation’s history.  Our nation is suffering under the worst leadership crisis it has ever had. We are seeing the evil side of humanity on the news every day. Beckham will only be about 7 weeks old on Election Day.  For him, get out and vote for love, not hate.  Vote for all those little children who will have to live with the consequences of OUR actions.  VOTE!

This child was born during an economic downfall.  Life ahead of him will be affected every day because of this mess.  For him, let’s do what we can to bring strength back into our economy.

This child was born while our Home, Our Planet, Our Earth, is suffering from neglect and apathy.  For him, and all his playmates and all the children of the world, let’s get off our asses, and work hard to fix the problems we have caused.  For him, climate change will not be a future problem.  For him, it’s now. 

This child was born while the whole west coast was in flames.  Wildfires are all over his home state of Oregon.  We read that the air quality in the Portland, Oregon area is THE WORSE IT HAS EVER BEEN.  This child cannot go outside.  His new lungs are not allowed to breathe the ash-infused atmosphere.  He won’t see or feel the sun or a breath of fresh air for a while.  Nana can’t push him around the block in his stroller!  He is lucky he lives in a comfortable, beautiful home with plenty of love and attention, but this tiny guy is missing out on the world!  For him, please, let the rains come; let the fires die out; let the forests heal; let the air clear.  For him, let him breathe.

Beckham is a blessing to all of us.  To him, and all the little lives entering the world now:  Hang in there! You are not alone.  We love you.  We will be your champions, your superheroes.  We, your loving grandparents, and the whole collection of relatives and friends will be there for you.  We have screwed things up but it’s not over yet and we are not done yet. 

Your life is going to be wonderful. Your birth year of 2020 is already being denigrated as the worst year ever. Let it be your worst year. Get the worst over with right away.

Beckham, your tiny body is the promise to all of us that Love will keep us together and Love will overcome hate and Love is all there is.

For you, Beckham, all our love, our prayers and our hope. For you, little darling, Nana’s heart is overflowing with love!