The Violet Hour

Friday, October 28th was a day full of emotion for us.  This was the day that we would meet our daughter.  The mother who had chosen us as adoptive parents was scheduled to be induced and we had to figure out a way to keep calm and carry on with our daily lives.  David's day began bright and early when he headed to his mom and dad's house to lay tile with his brother.  They decided to meet at 6 a.m. in case Geena's labor was short.  I know he was glad to have something to occupy his time to help him remain calm.

My day began by fretting over what I would wear that day.  What exactly does one wear when they meet their daughter for the first time?  Usually it's a hospital gown, so I had no frame of reference for what to choose.  I went with my favorite skirt, a warm top and a cozy sweater since it was a chilly morning.  When I got in the car to head to school (I was running late by this time) I started the car and it promptly died.  Luckily, it was because it had run out of gas.  After a quick call to David, I located the gas can for the lawnmower and was on my way.

I had 7 parent teacher conferences lined up for the day.  I had an unusually light schedule because (by the grace of God) 15 families had signed up for conferences the day before.  The conferences were fine and a nice distraction.  Once they were over and I was left by myself, I began listening to John Denver and the Muppets and Sufjan Stevens' Christmas songs to help calm my nerves.  I had plenty of time to make sure that everything was set up for the teacher who would be taking over my classroom.  It was a relief to get all of that done so that I wouldn't have to worry about school anymore.

We received text updates from Geena throughout the day (which was awesome!) and by the time we met at home around 4:30, we were pretty much overwhelmed with excitement.  We received a text from Geena at 6:15 that said that she was going to start pushing, so we should head over.  We scrambled to get her gift and our  video camera and were out the door quickly.

When we got in the car, David set his iPod to shuffle.  Out of 935 songs, the song The Violet Hour by the Civil Wars came on.  It's a calm instrumental song that was perfectly captured the mood of the day.

We arrived at the hospital at about the same time that Violet made her entrance.  We sat in the waiting room for just a few minutes and watched the pre-game for the World Series, Game 7.  Just after the national anthem, we were invited to the delivery room to meet Violet.

Words cannot describe the moment we first saw Geena holding our daughter.  We felt so many things that the only possible reaction was to cry.  It was truly a beautiful moment.  David was the first to hold her and I was able to shortly after.  It was a surreal experience as we admired the brand new baby that we would have the privilege of adopting.  We smiled, cried, chatted, and took video and somehow everything seemed comfortable and right.

After things settled down a bit, we gave Geena the gifts that we brought for her to make her hospital stay a little more comfortable.  We gave her some yummy smelling strawberry lip balm and a cozy pair of socks.  The nurse hadn't cleared her to eat yet, so I told her that we had brought her some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and that we would give them to her when she had permission to eat.  She laughed when I told her the flavor and told us that she had been craving and talking about pumpkin chocolate chip cookies all day!  I'm certain that it was a sign from God that we were going to be a great match.

A little bit later, the nurse came in with a bottle and I was the first to feed sweet Violet!  She ate like a pro and even lifted her head and looked at David while I was burping her.  We were so amazed at how alert she was!   We were also grateful that everything had gone well and that Violet and Geena were both healthy.  The nurse came back and took Violet to the nursery to give her a bath.  She allowed David and I to follow and be with her during her time in the nursery.

Violet looked so tiny laying in the little hospital crib under the warming lamp.  Her temperature wasn't high enough to start her bath right away, so we got to spend time talking to her, holding her hand, and marveling at what a beautiful miracle she was!  We expected her to cry during bath time, but were amazed at how bright red her whole body looked while she was crying.  It took the nurse a while to wash and comb through all of her beautiful hair.  There were two other babies in the nursery and I couldn't help but feel like our baby was better than those other babies in every possible way.  As a teacher, I know that this is common feeling among parents and I totally get it now.

After she was bathed and dressed, we said our goodnights to sweet Violet.  Three hours had passed so quickly!  We were so very happy, we hardly knew what to do with ourselves.  The reality of what had just happened was so great and so wonderful that it would be quite a while before it would all sink in.  We felt so honored that Geena wanted us to meet Violet right after she was born.  It was a tremendous privilege to walk into the delivery room and be welcomed by Geena and her parents just minutes after Violet's birth.  Looking back, I really don't think that evening could have been more perfect and it's an awesome memory that I hope I'll be able to share with Violet again and again.  It's the night that both of her families united in their love for our precious little girl.