Dear Maria Clara,
In a few weeks you probably won’t remember me anymore, but I’ll
never forget you. I still remember the first time I saw you. Pastor Rony said
they had babies in a nursery and I snuck off quickly to find me one. From the
first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were “My One.” The one person I
wanted to love on each week, to pour into and pray for, to cuddle with and
snuggle and let you know you are loved.
Granted, you were six months old when I met you, and now you’re
eight months. You still don’t really walk or talk, but you snuggle really well
and fit in my arms just perfectly.
My team even says we look alike…if I were 8 months old and
Guatemalan, I guess.
I was told you came here to the orphanage when you were four
days old, and your ears were already pierced. I wonder if you already had baby
acne then too. You pick at your scabs, just like me, and your skin is prone to
irritation, also like me.
We have a similar nose and a smile that changes our whole
faces, well… when you feel like smiling. You like to be thrown up in the air,
and you like riding my knee as a horse. You are one of the most observant
babies I’ve ever seen, always eager to see what’s going on and never wanting to
rest or sleep, lest you miss something.
They call you La Gordita, but I just call you my baby. My
sweet, precious Guatemalan girl, who I will never forget.
I don’t know much more about you, except that the first time
you fell asleep in my arms, I knew you trusted me. My team tells me last week
when I was sick, you looked around for me, and were not content in anyone else’s
arms. This week, in our last hour together, you fell asleep again, and I sang
sweet songs of the Lord over you.
Sweet baby Maria Clarita, I hope you know you are so so
loved. I hope you know your Daddy in heaven loves you and will never leave you.
I don’t know why your parents gave you up, but I’m glad the orphanage you live
in is nice and has lots of nuns who seem to love you especially.
I will miss you more than words can say. If the Guatemalan
adoption process weren’t so loopy and I were married, I would bring you home
with me as soon as I could. At it is, I will never forget you. And neither will
your Heavenly papa.
Love you, baby girl.
Glenalyn
