Dec. 2025
Phyllis Shragge

It was the cry of the newborn baby announcing her presence to the world. It was her innocence coupled with her determination to change everything about her parents’ lives from that day forward. It was her sweetness, her softness, and her magic intertwined. It was the beginning.

It was the jolt of the baby’s cry in the middle of the night. 

It was the mother saying: “Your turn,” and rolling over for much-needed sleep. It was the father mumbling: “I’m up,” then groaning as he shuffled towards the baby’s room. It was the father’s sigh when he slid back into bed. It was the mother’s hand reaching over and giving his hand a squeeze.

It was the parents’ joy when their baby crawled towards a toy. It was their delight when the baby took her first steps.  It was the baby becoming a toddler.

It was the mother’s worry and sense of guilt as she dropped her toddler off at daycare. It was the toddler’s panic on that first day when she realized her mother was gone, and the toddler’s change of heart just a few days later when she realized daycare was fun.  

It was the parents telling their little girl how junior kindergarten would be better than daycare. It was the girl’s shyness and her hope that the other children would like her. It was the girl glowing weeks later because now she had a best friend. It was the parents wondering, months later, how the school year could be almost over.

It was the girl easing into Grade One and her whizzing through elementary school before the parents knew what happened. It was the years in middle school when she and her parents seemed to argue all the time. It was the stress of planning for her Bat Mitzvah and the parents’ eventual relief and pride when she chanted her Haftorah beautifully. It was the girl’s preference for all-black clothes, black eyeliner and her new bright pink hair as she entered her first year of high school. It was the parents’ holding hands as they watched their daughter’s high school graduation.  It was their joy on her first day of university and their sobbing as they drove away leaving her among strangers.

It was the mother squeezing the father’s hand as they watched their daughter’s university convocation. It was the parents’ pride when the daughter found a job she loved. It was the daughter’s smile as she announced her engagement to a wonderful man and the joy everyone felt the following year at the wedding. It was the mother’s sad eyes as she digested the news of their daughter and son-in-law moving to another city. It was the parents’ hesitant suggestion that they move there as well so they could be closer to their daughter and son-in-law. It was the daughter’s initial surprise, then her reassuring words, “Mom and Dad, we’d love you to be nearby.”

It was the mother and father’s overwhelming delight when the daughter announced she was pregnant.

It was the cry of the newborn baby announcing his presence to the world.  It was the grandparents’ joy at the bris, and months later when the baby said his first words. It was the birth of another grandchild, this time a girl, and how the grandparents couldn’t have imagined such happiness.  

It was the love the grandparents felt for their grandchildren. It was the grandparents’ sadness when their daughter interpreted their advice on child rearing as criticism, and their decision to zip up their lips because their relationship with their daughter was so important. It was the grandparents’ frustration, wishing their daughter could learn from their experience.

It was the overwhelming sadness when first the grandfather died, and then a few years later when the grandmother passed away. It was the love the family felt when they remembered the cherished grandparents. It was the grandchildren growing up and having babies of their own. It was the naming of one baby after the grandfather who had been such an integral part of the family. 

It was the subsequent naming of another baby, this time after the devoted grandmother. It was the circle of life.