Augustine Mario, born this day one year ago, was a surprise. He entered the world with a lot of prayer and a sigh of relief, two months before his actual due date. Only a week earlier, our daughter, Alicia, was life-flighted from Chico to Sacramento and Augustine was delivered to avoid severe affects of preeclampsia.
Nevertheless, he was born relatively healthy, and we learned to rejoice despite the circumstances. His first two months, spent in the ICU, were marked by our visiting schedules, where we all scrubbed up and sanitized our phones before entering his room. Against all odds, our daughter kept her breast milk flowing to nourish him, but it was delivered with a feeding tube. He was held, cradled, cared for, and still separated from his family in the conventional way.
A child born under these circumstances is usually stressed and high maintenance. Instead, Augustine has become a child that seems satisfied, perfectly content in most ways. To this day, very simple things make him happy: the sight of his mother coming around the corner, his sisters coming home from school, windchimes, toys, his own voice, the cars that drive by on the road in front of their house.
At one year old, a baby is a baby, but Augustine has our hearts. Even Mario, with his tough-guy exterior, melts in his presence.
Happy Birthday, baby! Tomorrow we will ceebrate you as a family!
