My Sister Geula Miriam's Birth - By Devorah Leah, age 12

BH

My Sister Geula Miriam's Birth

- By Devorah Leah, Age 12

It was the first day of Pesach. Everything was totally normal, and so was Mommy - or at least it looked like that.  

I went down to rest so that I would have the energy to stay up late for the second Seder. 

The house was quiet. Everyone was either resting or outside chilling. It almost felt like the whole world became silent just for this. Just for Geula Miriam to come into this world.  

Probably a short time after, I woke up from my rest and came upstairs. 

It was really quiet, and I found my older sister Chaya reading to my younger siblings, Avraham and Eivy, on the couch. I sat down, and Chaya said, "I didn't tell anyone yet... but Mommy might be having a baby soon... or it could also be next week..." For some reason, I wasn't so shocked, maybe because of the casual way she said it. 

Then, she gave me a list of random things they would need if Mommy was going to be having the baby.  

That's when it started becoming real. 

I was running around the house, gathering things from the list. I was on such a high, but then Chaya said, "Wait, double check with Tatty. I don't think we need it anymore."

I was so confused. Was Mommy having the baby or not?!?

Then I did something really smart, and I'm happy I did it. I said "Chaya can we switch jobs?" And that's when I sat on the couch to read to Avraham and Eivy, my heart thumping wildly.  

Tatty and Chaya were running around the house.

 "Where are all the towels?" called out Tatty. 

So she WAS having the baby... or was she?!

I smiled, thinking about the story of my birth. Mine was the first homebirth in our family. And this was going to be our new baby's birth story!

Avraham went to rest, and Eivy was playing with my Savta. So I went down to my room. When I came up, more of my siblings were there - Menucha, Moti, and Bracha Leba.  

Chaya came up and whispered, "She had the baby!" I was so shocked and happy. "Already??" 

Chaya asked me to run and tell our sister Yaffa and her new husband Mendel. who were staying next door.

And run I did!

Mendel opened the door. 

"Should I tell Yaffa first?" I wondered.  

I asked, "Where's Yaffa?" But she was in the other room, and Mendel was right there, so I just blurted out, "Mendel! She had the baby!"

He literally screamed. It was so cute. Then I heard Yaffa screaming, too.

Mendel was like, "Yaffa, hurry up! I wanna go already!!" I was so happy to see how excited he was. He's already so much part of our family, even though he married Yaffa only three months ago!

Then I ran back, and everyone was waiting upstairs.

That's when it got really exciting. We were all waiting for Mommy to be ready for us to see her.

Mendel and Yaffa came, and we were all jumping and laughing and talking. 

Bubby came upstairs and asked, "What's the surprise Chaya was talking about?" Then Tatty was like, "Mazel Tov!" Bubby's reaction was so cute, I can't even describe it! 

They opened the door, and there I saw Mommy with a glowing, happy face and a little baby cuddled up on her chest. It made me so happy, after all the stress and excitement, to see a fresh new baby!

Everyone was genuinely happy, and Mommy was acting so chill. My bucket was overflowing. Eivy and Avraham were acting so cute, and I was just fascinated by everything. 

The coolest thing was that we didn't even know the baby's gender yet- but it didn't matter. We were all too happy to care. 

Then Mommy lifted the baby, and Tatty announced, "It's a girl!!" 

Everyone cheered. Everyone was shocked, but I knew it the whole time. 

Then we all went downstairs to give Mommy some space. 

I went on the porch and davened mincha, 'cuz it just felt right. I was feeling so happy, I needed to tell Hashem and, of course, thank Him.

Then, all the boys left to Chabad for Mincha. We went back upstairs - just us girls and Tatty. We did all of the fun stuff like weighing the baby, cutting the umbilical chord, and asking the midwives all sorts of questions. I loved how it was just girls, 'cuz Mommy was being so open, and it was normal and warm. The midwives were so cute and friendly. It was such a good atmosphere. Who could believe that just a little baby girl could do that!

Then the boys came back - I went down to freshen up and get dressed for the Seder. Then I went to light the Yom Tov candles.  

When I lit candles, I thought a lot about Mommy and Baby, and I asked Hashem that they should both be happy, healthy, and calm. 

The Seder was so calm and cozy. I'm so happy that we had planned to have the second Seder at home.  

Mommy was in her room with the balcony doors open, and it felt like she was part of it. But not enough for kids to complain to her. It was so perfect.  

It was fun to go up once in a while to bring Mommy the next step of the Seder. It was fun to hold Miriam and even just to be near her. I feel like she just brings good energy wherever she goes. Like when she came down during the Seder - everyone became calmer and more relaxed. When I held her, it felt like my whole life paused, just for baby Miriam.  

I feel like the birth dropped a certain energy to the whole rest of Pesach. 

I love Geula Miriam.

I love Mommy.

I love Hashem and the Rebbe. 

This whole birth story was so perfect - and so is Geula Miriam.  

Everything made sense, and when Moshiach comes, that's how it's going to be! Perfect and making sense.  

That's why I feel like Geula is a perfect name for Geula Miriam.

I'm so excited for Moshiach, and Geula Miriam is bringing it, with her perfect and "making sense" energy. 

MOSHIACH NOW!!!!

♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡