A Leg Up

The other night, while Sara and I waited for her parents to arrive, we got an unexpected surprise. As we sat on the couch watching our dog Jack be frightened to death by a purple exercise ball, Ella decided to be active. She squirmed, kicked, and shifted almost as if she was playing jump rope with her umbilical cord. Sara's belly looked like she had been possessed by some stomach alien that desperately sought to get out.

The unexpected surprise came when we actually felt out an appendage. We could actually feel one of Ella's limbs. Sara thinks it was an arm, I believe it to have been a leg, neither of us are certain one way or the other. But we are certain it wasn't a butt, back, or head. Talk about a fun experience... I think I goosed Ella's knee. She must take after my Granddaddy. He's real sensitive on his knees. I say that because as soon as I pinched what I believe to be a leg, she immediately drew it back. As quickly as we discovered the limb, it disappeared. Ella thought she had gotten a leg up on us... okay, so she did. Nonetheless, we are thankful to have had a that brief moment to feel our precious little girl's leg (or arm) even if we did goose her.

I realize this probably seems insignificant to most people, but to Sara and I it was a moment to cherish. A simple moment of joy. A simple moment of love. A simple moment where we connected with our developing baby, our little girl. In our world, that's huge. In our world, that moment had meaning because we got to share it together. Our simple experience may not give us a leg up in parenting but at least it gives us a leg up in memories we will never forget. Thanks Ella for getting a leg up and letting us connect with you and each other.