a son

We must have been deeply immersed in the self-delusion of impending parenthood to think that eleven days after a scheduled induction--which would actually be a very messy c-section, followed by five days of hospitalization that were almost worse than the c-section--I would be standing in a beautiful old church in the West Village for three hours with my husband and two small children, singing along with George Frideric Handel's Messiah. 

Yes, it was a ridiculous plan. But it did mean that for the past two months the strains of that marvelous work have been filling our home, sometimes the bass part, sometimes the alto, most often the entire chorale, bringing Christmas spirit and something to focus on aside from our own impatience. And it did not take long for us to feel that it had been written just for us at this particular moment of our lives. Even little Violet would warble with delight,

For unto us a child is born, 

Unto us a son is given...

Is there any better gift than a new baby?  Meet Thomas Townsend.