Prayers

"God said to Abraham, 'You shall not call your wife Sarai because her name is Sarah. I will bless her and kings of nations shall descend from her.'"

Yesterday, Sasha got her hebrew name: Sarah Bina.

Like baptism in Christian families, a girl baby is welcomed into the Jewish community through a naming ceremony. And Sasha's was lovely.

Family from Arizona, Minnesota, Atlanta...Friends from Orlando, from across the street...A slew of pink baby roses...Bagels and Lox...Petit fours decorated with pink S's...Sasha in a white and pink handmade smocked dress that we bought her in Charleston...Me in an outfit that hid at least three of the nine pounds I have left...

We wrapped Sasha in a pink tallit and the Rabbi spoke about God's love and protection. My brother and his sister welcomed her as a symbol of creation, held her during the ceremony. I clung to Husband's arm, kept my eyes on my daughter, who slept and didn't fuss once.

My mom and my mother in law cried when Husband talked about Sasha's middle name, Brianne, being after them.

Pretty much everyone teared up after Husband choked on his last line. They are words dear to me, words that sit on her shelf in a room and they represent one of our biggest hopes for our daughter: Dream big, our sweet girl, dream big.

The potential of an infant seemed to get under everyone's skin. Much the way she turns us to mush, Sasha seemed to melt everyone in the room. It was renewing to see a group of people who love us and our little girl so much, and much more sad than usual to say good-bye.