Finding a blackbird chick in my garden seemed symbolic.  It was the week before my daughter’s christening; she was napping and I had seized the time to wander on the grass.  Wildlife often nestles at the edges of this vast stretch of green.  I’ve seen frogs, rabbits and hedgehogs in the past.  The chick was brown and fluffy and looked bigger than his parents.  He had shiny black eyes and didn’t move as I squatted down beside him for a closer look. There is something so vulnerable and trusting about the young.

I see it when my daughter looks up at me.  I know that she is wholly reliant on me to provide her with food, clothing, warmth, love.  I feel so responsible but also blessed that she is now my family, my little girl.

Celebrating her christening with my family and my husband’s family was incredibly special.  Aside from my parents, none of my family had met my daughter before, yet she greeted them as if she had always known them.  She loves people and seems to truly blossom in their company.

The day felt similar to a wedding.  My husband and I rushed around all day, meeting my parents and sisters for coffee, bathing and dressing our daughter in ivory and lilac, getting ourselves ready, putting the finishing touches to homemade chocolate truffles . . .

As my nine year old niece said, ‘it all felt like a dream’.  Now, our daughter is christened, our guests have departed and we are left with memories of conversations, of new connections.  We look forward to the next gathering.