I am driving to the Airport on Maui, the small one, for the private jets. I am excited since I am invited to a trip to Hana, by plane.
“When do you come back?” “Oh, I will be gone all day, not before evening…”, I reply. “Ah…”, Naomi’s mother answered and closed the door.
This short conversation doesn’t go out of my mind. What does she mean? It was quite unusual for this Japanese woman to ask me this. And, it was something kind of urgent in the question. A vague thought comes to my mind: “What if it’s THE MOMENT?” The whole scene comes back to me. The short minute I went into the living room of my son Oliver and daughter-in-law, Naomi, to grab the car key.
By now I have arrived at my friend’s house Karin and Remo. My Swiss friends with whom I will be flying to Hana.
Happily, we hug, excited for our Hana trip. They are almost ready, only finishing their cup of coffee. The nagging thought doesn’t leave me. I have to tell them. And eventually, we all agree. I must go back. I can’t join them. I can’t miss it, after all. Wishing each other a happy day we part, and I go back to my son’s house.
Naomi’s labor had started. That’s why the midwife was already here. That’s why Naomi was kind of hanging over the back of a chair. That’s why Oliver was kind of shy. And that’s why Haruko, Naomi’s mom, asked me: when do you come back…
Why did I not stay in the first place? I knew it. What if I had missed THIS MOMENT IN TIME? The reason I got the COVID vaccine was to be able to be part of my 6th grandchild’s birth! It was not even 9 a.m. I went upstairs to my quarters to have a second cup of green tea.
The labor pains were still quite far apart. Nevertheless, Kiara, the midwife, now prepared the pool and filled it with water, it stood in the middle of the living room. But Naomi was still more comfortable to walk around.
By now it was midday and Haruko and I decided to go and grab lunch for all of us. When we came back nobody was hungry. The action had started. Naomi was in the pool. There she could find more relief from the labor pains. Oli would hold her hand. Kiara massaged her lower back and the second midwife handed her the glass of coconut water with a straw to sip on, while the third midwife, the apprentice, refilled the pool with hot water and gave Naomi some relief from the hot air with a fan. It was now afternoon way after 2 p.m. Any moment could be THE MOMENT! Haruko took lots of pictures.
Kiara encouraged Naomi: “Push, Naomi, it’s almost here. The head is already showing.” Holding Oli’s hand Naomi pushed with all she had – and the baby flushed out into the midwife’s hand. She placed the baby on the mother’s chest. It was 2.47 p.m.
Holding this little bundle Naomi didn’t yet quite realize what happed. She just birthed her first child. She looked at Oli with an asking look: “What has happened, is this true? Are we parents now? “
Kiara asks: “Did you look? What gender is it?” “Oh, no, I have not looked yet”, smiles Naomi. And only now we find out: “It’s a boy!” We all laugh.
Later, Kiara, placed the baby into my son’s arms who just became a father. Not yet aware of the consequences of having a child, overwhelmed by the course of the past hours, during which his wife Naomi had to work hard, and did so well. Having all the support you can have with 3 midwives, her mother, her mother-in-law, and her dear husband all close by, she still had to do the work by herself, helping this child to get out of her body into his own life on this planet Earth. She did beautifully!
Later, Haruko would hold her first grandchild in her arms. And later I would hold my sixth grandchild, my third grandchild-boy in my arms. What a beautiful moment to get again so close to a being who brings so much back from the universe!
It is hard to describe the feelings I had. What a day! What a chance to witness a childbirth. To be present by welcoming a new life. We all were overwhelmed by this moment, a moment we all have bonded as a family. A moment, I could feel, we were very close to this unseen world this Babyboy brought with him. He didn’t cry hard, just for a little while. Instead, he looked around, wondering where he was. Almost as if he woke from a deep sleep and now slowly waking up, not yet grasping where he is. A transition from one world into another.
What, if I had missed this! What if I had gone to Hana instead! What, if I had missed this wonder! THIS MOMENT IN TIME! I would have regretted it my whole life.