Woody’s award-winning novel “The Butterfly Tree” is available at Amazon (click here), other online retailers, and orderable at all bookshops.
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Dearest Jayden Ansel Woodburn,
Welcome to the world and to our family!
You were born at noon, precisely on the midday stroke, in the middle of summer and so fittingly a quote from William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” came to my mind – about maiden Hermia, but altered for your gender: “Though he be but little, he is fierce.”
At 6 pounds and 11 ounces, you were not all that little by newborn standards, Jayden, only one ounce smaller than your big sister Amara was two orbits ago; and certainly not at all little compared to your Auntie Dallas who, as a preemie, weighed a mere 2 pounds, 6 ounces. All the same, you arrival demanded fierceness.
I recall a philosopher’s reflection that being born is the most arduous thing each of us will ever do: leaving a warm and perfect haven inside our mother’s womb for the cold and harsh world; being squeezed and torqued, pushed and pulled; finally, the literally breathtaking shock of taking our very first breath of in-rushing air.
Jayden, you came through your arduous 30-hour journey of labor like Hercules triumphant over his dozen tasks – as did your heroic Mommy, who is somehow fiercer, kinder and smarter too, than she is outwardly beautiful.
You likewise won the Parent SuperLotto with your Daddy, who is my son, who I long ago nicknamed “Grog” and since he calls me “Big Grog” that makes you “Little Grog.”
Lady Fortune furthermore bestowed upon you a trifecta of blue-chip uncles – Allyn, Ben, and Matt – but it is the sisterhood of women warriors you are blessed to have watching over you that merit the loudest song of praise.
To begin, grandmothers Gloria and Lisa (“GeeGee” and “NeNe”) are supremely kind and brave, wise and playful, lovely and loving. Always take pride, Jayden, that their DNA is woven into yours.
Aunties Stephanie, Beverly, Jennifer, and Dallas merit the moniker “Fab Four” as surely as do the Beatles (Google them, Jayden), for they are remarkable women of great heart and fortitude and intellect and charm.
Actually, Little Grog, you are also blessed with a second little “fab four” – lowercase – in cousins Maya, Auden, Mariah, and Mackenzie. They will tease you, assuredly and endlessly, but will always have your back as their little prince.
Which brings me to your four-leaf clover of a Big Sis. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to foresee all the fun and games, love and laughter, memories and mischief, you and Amara will share.
Speaking of sharing, I want to tell you the heritage of your middle name. My Grandpa Ansel – your great-great-grandfather – was definitively the finest man I ever knew … until your father, who shares your middle name Ansel, grew into adulthood. In my heart of hearts, I wish for you one day to stand atop their shoulders.
Lastly for now, Jayden, to honor your roots that grew deep in Ireland’s soil two centuries distant on your paternal side and maternally reach back more recently to Ghana, let me share with you portions from two native blessings:
“May the road rise to meet you / May the wind be always at your back / May the sun shine warm upon your face / May the dreams you hold dearest be those that come true / And the kindness you spread keep returning to you.
“May your life be like a rich kente cloth, vibrant and woven with threads of joy, / Each year a new pattern, a story told, in happiness, peace, and love’s employ.”
With love to the moon,
Big Grog
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Essay copyrights Woody Woodburn
Woody’s new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is now available in paperback and eBook at Amazon (click here), other online bookstores, and is orderable at all bookshops.
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Woody writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn.