Spontaneous Birthings
Monday, August 14, 2006
50% Korean, 100% Jubilee!
It's official. I am Auntie Kristen.
In the spring, my sister asked me what I wanted my niece to call me. I hadn't even thought about it. It didn't seem like a big deal. But the question nurtured various possibilities: Aunt Kristen, Auntie Kristy, Kristen-ajama ("ajama" is Korean for aunt)...The more I thought about it, the more the excitement bubbled up in my chest, and I felt an undeniable urge to mimic what the names would sound like coming out of a 2 or 3-year-old, and all of a sudden, it became quite important.
I couldn't have her call me Auntie Kristy or Krissy. I've always disliked both names. I couldn't be Kristen-ajama, my sister and I both agreed. There was only one "ajama" in our lives - Julie-ajama - a Korean lady who greeted the both of us when we stepped onto US ground for the first time, who had helped my parents assimilate my sister and I into our new lives.
I didn't want my name to sound too plain, but I finally settled on Auntie Kristen. That was what my sister called me when she first told me she was pregnant.
Now the name doesn't even matter.
Lani Anne Derrickson was born last night at 5:56 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. and 8 ozs. I wonder why people always add the weight when discussing newborns, but I think I understand now. It's an amazing thing - childbirth - and the idea that a small, precious body was forming inside of the womb is still almost too incredulous to believe, so it's a tactile way for us to comprehend the miracle. It's almost like having proof that the birth actually happened.
I can't wait to meet Lani, who I've been promised has chubby cheeks. I can't wait to watch her grow and become her favorite aunt - because of course, that's who I will undoubtedly be. Most of all, I can't wait to hear her call my name - however she wants to say it.
kristen at 3:59 PM
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