Our
dear friends wished for him, and planned for him, and prepared their
lives for him. For years. And as the time for him got
closer and closer we were all ready to meet him. Baby Elliot was
due to arrive in February of 2013 and we were so thrilled for his
parents.
So
in early December of 2012, when Christopher and I recieved an
email from his mommy and daddy, the news was tense and unexpected.
Elliot was not going to wait until his due date. He was
coming soon. A little bit too soon. Such a tiny boy.
"Is
there anything you two need? What can we do?"
"Not
a thing,"
was the reply. "It's
out of our hands now. They are getting good care. The
medicine is working. They are trying to keep him from being
born as long as possible."
As
the days went by the news got better. He was little, but he was
still inside mom. His lungs were growing and he was still
inside. They were getting ready for him and he was still
inside. I told Christopher that I was sending a box to the
expectant and fragile mommy with silly things like magazines and
cookies because I didn't know what else to do. I wanted to send her healing and hugs. I wanted to send her days
and weeks and time for that little boy to get just a little bit
bigger. And that's when I heard the piano.
"What
are you doing down there?"
I called to Christopher.
"I'm
writing a piece for Elliot because he is so little and so loved and I
don't know what else to do."
And
so, over the next few days, Elliot and his mommy stayed the same.
She waited. He stayed inside. And this was good.
Good enough. And the notes came along. Then the
notes matched with words. Revision after revision. We all
waited.
Just
one week after we heard the news of Elliot's plan to arrive nearly
three months ahead of schedule, Christopher declared,
"I
think it's finished. I'm going to go to my office for awhile
before church this morning so I can get it engraved and have it ready
for Elliot. I want it to be ready when he comes."
About
an hour later, while Chrisopher was in church, I recieved an email
from Elliot's daddy. Little Elliot had passed away.
Your
song was ready little one. He finished it for you that morning
because somehow he knew it needed to be ready.
With
songs we hasten you to greet, little one.
We
will hold you in our hearts, if not our arms, little one.
Music binds us. It is born of people and events and circumstances and it directly links us to the ones we love.
Music binds us. It is born of people and events and circumstances and it directly links us to the ones we love.
No comments:
Post a Comment