Feathers

It was time.

Cecilia and Will had welcomed the Gringa to their life in Brasil 104 days before, and had looked after me as much as I had helped them. They had always made me feel welcome.

They defered to my need to rest most afternoons, and included me in all their plans. Will taught me how to manage being a pedestrian--a real skill in a place where foot traffic has no right of way. They taught me the ins and outs of Brasilian currency, buses, credit and debit purchases, and street safety. They celebrated my arrival anniversary with homemade treats and sparkler.

Homemade brigadeiros celebrated the Gringa's first month in Brasil.

C and I sat in the kitchen, walked to the store, feathered their nest, and talked all the while.
Will and Cecilia cooked.

 We made a sign for the door of Cecilia's hospital room.

To welcome Daniel!

At times, they asked for my opinion; and when they didn't, I tried to withhold unsolicited advice.

Daniel had joined the family 1,944 hours before.

Daniel Reese Maia Bingham was born February 11, 2012.

In all that time, we had become a new family.  The rhythms of our days and nights with Little Man were patterned; well . . . as much as posssible with a baby who was little more than 2 months old.  We three had teamed up to learn the rhythm of life with newborn Daniel.  [Someone refered to this first three months as "the fourth trimester," a time when baby would still benefit from being in the womb but would no longer fit.  (Of course, technically it wouldn't be a trimester if there were four of them, but the concept made perfect sense.)]  Even with sleep deprivation, the demands of nursing, and recovery from surgical birth, Cecilia was the best!  How she kept from screaming and beating me with a nursing bra is a testament to her patience and grace.  Instead, I was an honored guest in their home from January 18th through May 2nd. 

Cecilia and Will were more than ready to take back their life, and become a nuclear family.  They just didn't know it.  Both kept commenting, "What are we going to do when you leave?"  "We won't be able to do this without you."  But the fact was, I had been 'weaning' myself from daily details and duties for several weeks.  Just about all I was doing at that point was some laundry and a much-anticipated date with Daniel every morning.

When I was young, my Dad had removed the training wheels and had run alongside my bicycle to give me the courage to do what he knew I was ready to do.  In the same way over the past two weeks, I had been running alongside these two--not even touching the bike.

Do you remember the story of Dumbo?  He's the little circus elephant with the big ears who needed to learn to fly in order to be part of the show.  He doubted his ability, and was fearful.  His friends gave him a feather to hold in his trunk when it was time for him to jump from the platform.  And he jumped, and he flew. 

So on the day before I left to return to Texas, I gave Will and Cecilia a special reminder.

Will opened and . . .

. . . Cecilia placed the feathers around her neck--
one silver and one blue.

The feather didn't make little Dumbo fly, you know.